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. 2023 Dec 8;18(12):e0295070.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0295070. eCollection 2023.

Antimicrobial use practices in canine and feline dental procedures performed in primary care veterinary practices in the United States

J Scott Weese  1 , Ian Battersby  2 , JoAnn Morrison  3 , Nathaniel Spofford  3 , Maria Soltero-Rivera  4
Affiliations

Antimicrobial use practices in canine and feline dental procedures performed in primary care veterinary practices in the United States

J Scott Weese et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

This study examined the utilization of antimicrobials in canines and felines receiving dental treatments in veterinary clinics in the United States, retrospectively. A total of 818,150 animals (713,901 procedures in dogs and 104,249 procedures in cats) underwent dental procedures under general anesthesia in 2020. These included dental prophylaxis and extractions. Patient demographic data, antimicrobial treatment, treatment duration, dose, periodontal disease score, whether tooth extractions were performed and how many extractions were performed was recorded. Our results showed that local or systemic antimicrobials were used in 116,723/713,901 (16.4%) procedures in dogs and 14,264/104,249 (14%) procedures in cats. Age, weight, extraction of one or more teeth and diagnosis of periodontal disease (any stage) were associated with increased likelihood of antimicrobial administration using univariable analysis (all P<0.001) and in the multivariable model. Clindamycin, amoxicillin-clavulanate and amoxicillin were the most common oral antimicrobials used in dogs and cats. Drugs classified as highest priority clinically important antibiotics (HPCIA) were administered to 30,960/116,723 (26.5%) of dogs and 7,469/14,264 (52%) of treated cats. The results obtained can inform interventions to optimize patient care and promote prudent use of antimicrobials during dental procedures in canine and feline patients.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Duration of antimicrobial treatment (days) prescribed after dental procedures in dogs (n = 116,723; blue) and cats (n = 14,264; red).
The x-axis denotes the duration of treatment in days, while the y-axis illustrates the percentage of cases.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Antimicrobials used peri-procedurally in dogs undergoing dental procedures (n = 116,723), by periodontal disease stage (PD0-4).
Fig 3
Fig 3. Comparison of the most common antimicrobials administered to dogs undergoing dental procedures that did, or did not, involve dental extractions.
Fig 4
Fig 4. Relationship of the prevalence of antimicrobial administration to dogs undergoing dental procedures (n = 713,901) and the number of teeth that were extracted.
Fig 5
Fig 5. Comparison of peri-procedural antimicrobials that were administered to dogs undergoing dental procedures (n = 713,901), by the number of teeth that were extracted.
Fig 6
Fig 6. Scatterplot of the clinic-level prevalence of antimicrobial administration to cats undergoing dental procedures (n = 104,249).
The clinics are spread out in the x-axis and the y-axis shows the percentage of cases that received antimicrobial therapy.
Fig 7
Fig 7. Clinic-level prevalence (%) of peri-procedural administration of cefovecin to cats undergoing dental procedures (n = 104,249).
Fig 8
Fig 8. Antimicrobials used peri-procedurally in cats undergoing dental procedures (n = 104,249) by periodontal disease stage (PD0-4).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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