Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Antibiotic resistance in E coli from US dogs and cats 2008-2013
By Thungrat, Kamoltip et al.·Published in Veterinary microbiology·2015·College of Veterinary Medicine, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of clinical Escherichia coli isolates from dogs and cats in the United States: January 2008 through January 2013.
Plain-English summary
A study found that many dogs and cats in the U.S. with infections caused by Escherichia coli (E. coli) showed resistance to common antibiotics. This means that if your pet has a urinary tract infection, traditional treatments like doxycycline, ampicillin, or amoxicillin-clavulanic acid may not work effectively. Instead, veterinarians might consider using trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole as a better option for treatment. It's important to discuss your pet's specific situation with your vet to determine the best course of action.
People also search for: dog urinary tract infection treatment · cat E. coli infection antibiotics · antibiotic resistance in pets
Abstract
Escherichia coli is among the most common bacterial pathogens in dogs and cats. The lack of a national monitoring program limits evidence-based empirical antimicrobial choices in the United States. This study describes antimicrobial susceptibility patterns for presumed clinical E. coli isolates from dogs (n=2392) or cats (n=780) collected from six geographic regions in the United States between May 2008 and January 2013. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) were determined for 17 drugs representing 6 drug classes. Urinary tract isolates were most common (71%). Population MIC distributions were generally bimodal with the second mode above the resistant breakpoint for all drugs except gentamicin, amikacin, and meropenem. The MIC90 exceeded the susceptible breakpoint for ampicillin, amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, cephalothin (surrogate drug for cephalexin), and doxycycline but was below the susceptible breakpoint for all others. None of isolates was susceptible or resistant to all drug tested; 46% were resistant to 1 or 2 antimicrobial categories, and 52% to more than three categories. The resistance percentages were as follows: doxycycline (100%), cephalothin (98%)>ampicillin (48%)>amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (40%)>ticarcillin-clavulanic acid (18%)>cefpodoxime (13%), cefotaxime (12%), cefoxitin (11%), cefazolin (11%), enrofloxacin (10%), chloramphenicol (9.6%)>ciprofloxacin (9.2%), ceftazidime (8.7%), trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (7.9%), gentamicin (7.9%)>meropenem (1.5%), amikacin (0.7%) (P<0.05). Resistance to ampicillin and amoxicillin-clavulanic acid was greatest in the South-Central region (P<0.05). E. coli resistance may preclude empirical treatment with doxycycline, cephalexin, ampicillin, or amoxicillin-clavulanic acid. Based on susceptibility patterns, trimethoprim-sulfonamides may be the preferred empirical oral treatment.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26165272/