Equine Internal Medicine Professor University of Montreal St-Hyacinthe, QC, Canada
Abstract:
Background: Antimicrobial judicious usage in veterinary and human medicine is in constant reflection in view of responsible management of antibiotic resistance while targeting ideal clinical effectiveness.
Objectives: describe antimicrobial usage in equine pediatric patients, as well as clinical efficiency and associated short-term prognosis. Animals: Sixty equine pediatric patients.
Methods: The study included pediatric patients, 0 to 30 days of age, presented in the ICU at the University of Montreal’s equine hospital (2023), that received an antimicrobial treatment. Data on patient characteristics, septic scores as well as antimicrobial use in our hospital medical data base were collected.
Results: Most (70%) of the pediatric patients were up to one week old. Ceftiofur (74.6%) was used most often followed by penicillin-gentamicin association (52.5%). The most common administered first-line antibiotic was ceftiofur (63.3%) and 80% of foals received a first-class antibiotic during hospitalization. A change of antibiotic was decided for 14 foals (23.3%) based on the antimicrobial susceptibility test (AST) results. The short-term (end of hospitalization) survival rate was 83%. There is no correlation between the survival rate and the antibiotic therapy administered, nor between the survival rate and the septic score of the foals upon admission. Conclusion and Clinical importance: This study highlights the frequent use of highest-priority critically important antimicrobials in pediatric patients at an equine teaching hospital. The AST results allowed for targeting antibiotic therapy in nearly one-quarter of pediatric patients. These findings underscore the importance of strengthening antibiotic stewardship programs and providing alternatives to ceftiofur for treating septic neonatal foals.
