Today's Veterinary Practice

MAY-JUN 2017

Today's Veterinary Practice provides comprehensive information to keep every small animal practitioner up to date on companion animal medicine and surgery as well as practice building and management.

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16 VET REPORT VITALS How Often Does Treatment Follow the Guidelines? VET REPORT VITALS shutterstock.com/Soloviova Liudmyla PRACTITIONERS' ATTITUDES TOWARD ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE Antimicrobials are a cornerstone of treatment for many conditions, and their use can be critical for patient quality of life and survival. As such, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) not only affects the provision of safe and effective care, but also represents a critical and growing threat to public health. Evidence suggests that AMR is an important concern for many companion animal practitioners, with 59% of respondents to a survey of clinical veterinarians at a veterinary teaching hospital 1 and 45% of respondents to an American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) survey of self-identified companion animal practitioners 2 indicating they were strongly concerned about antimicrobial-resistant infections. Despite these concerns, awareness of available resources, such as guidelines for judicious use and disease-specific treatment recommendations, remains low. Most respondents to the AVMA survey indicated that they would like additional guidance regarding the choice of antimicrobials for various infections (77%) and the duration of antimicrobial treatment (83%), yet 88% were unaware of the existence of antimicrobial usage guidelines created by veterinary professional associations ( Figure 1 ). Given this low level of awareness, poor concordance of usage patterns with guideline recommendations might be expected. VET Report Vitals focuses on the results of the groundbreaking Banfield Veterinary Emerging Topics (VET) Reportâ„¢ "Are We Doing Our Part to Prevent Superbugs? Antimicrobial Usage Patterns Among Companion Animal Veterinarians." This report, a collaboration between the NAVC and Banfield Pet Hospital, aims to promote prudent antimicrobial use among companion animal practitioners by providing a baseline of antimicrobial usage data that can contribute to the discussion on how to achieve better concordance with published guidelines. This article presents data from the report as well as findings from industry research exploring practitioner's current attitudes toward antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Future articles will explore the implications of AMR for veterinary practitioners and discuss strategies for improving guideline concordance in daily practice. VET REPORT VITALS Nathaniel Spofford, BA, MPH Molly McAllister, DVM, MPH Banfield Pet Hospital, Portland, Oregon

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