Kudos to Banfield Pet Hospital® and The NAVC® for collaborating on The 2018 VET Report. It focuses on feline antimicrobial usage and the mounting public health issue of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The 2017 VET Report addressed AMR in dogs.
A lack of awareness about existing guidelines for antimicrobial usage in veterinary medicine has contributed to discordance between usage patterns and ideal treatments. This new report focuses on prescription patterns in common feline infections while considering the unique challenges cat owners face treating their feline companions.
Source: Cision PR Newswire, February 5, 2018.
Banfield’s research examined the treatment of upper respiratory infections and urinary tract infections in feline patients. Key findings include:
- 40 percent of cats received antimicrobial medications for a presumptive UTI with no urinalysis or with negative results
- 11 percent of feline patients received further culture and susceptibility testing to confirm the diagnosis after a positive urinalysis
- Two primary drivers for administering antimicrobials instead of additional testing or other forms of treatment were concerns about cat and owner compliance
- Opportunities exist to achieve improved adherence to existing antimicrobial usage guidelines through increased veterinarian focus on patient diagnostic testing, client education and support, and improving the ease of medication administration
INSIGHTS: Once again, compliance and testing surface as critical habits to develop in veterinary teams and animal owners. Banfield has been providing the industry data-driven improvement opportunities for years. It would be a shame for animal health pros to ignore these two easy to read reports. Veterinary teams need to allocate time to read and then discuss these data, the implications and determine potential changes for their individual practice to implement.