Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Principles of antimicrobial therapy: what should we be using?
- Journal:
- The Veterinary clinics of North America. Equine practice
- Year:
- 2006
- Authors:
- Southwood, Louise L
- Affiliation:
- Department of Clinical Studies · United States
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
The use of antibiotics in both human and veterinary medicine has greatly helped in preventing serious illness and death, but there are growing concerns about antibiotic resistance and diarrhea caused by these medications. In horses, for instance, infections that are resistant to treatment can lead to serious health issues and high treatment costs. It's important for veterinarians to think carefully about when and how they use antibiotics to avoid unnecessary use and its potential side effects. Overall, the goal is to use these medications responsibly to protect the health of pets and livestock.
Abstract
Although the use of antimicrobials has had an insurmountable impact on preventing patient morbidity and mortality, problems with antimicrobial resistance and antimicrobial-induced diarrhea are becoming more apparent in human and veterinary medicine. The mortality associated with nosocomial infection with antimicrobial-resistant bacteria in human patients is alarming. Similarly, in veterinary medicine, the morbidity and high cost of treatment of patients with postoperative infection, for example, are concerns. Specifically in equine medicine, the high morbidity and mortality associated with antimicrobial-induced diarrhea have been devastating in many equine practices. Misuse of antimicrobials is extremely common in human and veterinary medicine. All clinicians have the responsibility to consider the appropriateness of their antimicrobial use carefully and, whenever possible, to minimize antimicrobial administration to patients.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16882476/