Influencing attitudes towards antimicrobial use and resistance in companion animals-the impact on pet owners of a short animation in a randomized controlled trial.

Objectives: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a vital One Health issue; the rational use of antimicrobials is essential to preserve their efficacy. Veterinarians cite pressure from pet owners as a contributor to antimicrobial prescription. Engaging pet owners in antimicrobial stewardship could reduce this pressure.

In vitro and in vivo susceptibility to cefalexin and amoxicillin/clavulanate in canine low-level methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus pseudintermedius.

Background: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus pseudintermedius (MRSP) lineages harbouring staphylococcal cassette chromosome (SCC) mec types IV, V and ΨSCCmec57395 usually display low oxacillin MICs (0.5-2 mg/L).

Objectives: To evaluate how oxacillin MICs correlate with PBP mutations and susceptibility to β-lactams approved for veterinary use.

Overview and Evaluation of Existing Guidelines for Rational Antimicrobial Use in Small-Animal Veterinary Practice in Europe.

Antimicrobial stewardship guidelines (ASGs) represent an important tool to help veterinarians optimize their antimicrobial use with the objective of decreasing antimicrobial resistance. The aim of this study was to map and qualitatively assess the ASGs for antimicrobial use in cats and dogs in Europe. Country representatives of the European Network for Optimization of Veterinary Antimicrobial Treatment (ENOVAT) were asked to identify ASGs published in their countries.

Towards a Better and Harmonized Education in Antimicrobial Stewardship in European Veterinary Curricula.

Education in antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) in veterinary medicine is essential to foster responsible antimicrobial use and control of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in animals. AMS is listed by the EU and international organizations among the basic 'Day One Competences' required of veterinary students upon graduation. Our aim was to evaluate the quality of education of European veterinary students in AMS.

A retrospective study of 237 dogs hospitalized with suspected acute hemorrhagic diarrhea syndrome: Disease severity, treatment, and outcome.

Background: Few studies have investigated management and outcome in dogs with acute hemorrhagic diarrhea syndrome (AHDS), and there is a paucity of data on dogs with concurrent signs of sepsis.

Objectives: To report outcome in dogs with suspected AHDS according to disease severity and antimicrobial treatment, and to evaluate effect of fluid resuscitation on clinical criteria.

Animals: Two hundred thirty-seven dogs hospitalized with suspected AHDS.

Impact of oral amoxicillin and amoxicillin/clavulanic acid treatment on bacterial diversity and β-lactam resistance in the canine faecal microbiota.

Background: Aminopenicillins with or without a β-lactamase inhibitor are widely used in both human and veterinary medicine. However, little is known about their differential impact on the gut microbiota and development of antimicrobial resistance.

Objectives: To investigate changes in the faecal microbiota of dogs treated with amoxicillin or amoxicillin/clavulanic acid.

Stability and profiling of urinary microRNAs in healthy cats and cats with pyelonephritis or other urological conditions.

Background: Specific biomarkers of pyelonephritis (PN) in cats are lacking. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have diagnostic potential in human nephropathies.

Objectives: To investigate the presence/stability of miRNAs in whole urine of cats and the discriminatory potential of selected urinary miRNAs for PN in cats.

Cardiac troponin I in cats with compromised renal function.

Objectives: Cardiac troponins are sensitive and specific markers of myocardial injury. However, their reliability in renal disease has been questioned owing to possible renal involvement in troponin elimination. The primary objective of the present study was to examine whether serum cardiac troponin I is elevated in cats with compromised renal function and no clinically relevant structural cardiac disease.

Subclinical bacteriuria in a mixed population of 179 middle-aged and elderly cats: a prospective cross-sectional study.

Objectives: Subclinical bacteriuria (SBU) is the presence of bacteria in urine with no clinical evidence of lower urinary tract disease. The aims of this study were to investigate if being overweight and/or obesity predispose cats to SBU, to investigate previously reported risk factors and to determine the prevalence of SBU in a prospectively sampled cohort of middle-aged and elderly cats.

Methods: Cats aged ⩾6 years presenting to the University Hospital for Companion Animals in Copenhagen from 2015-2019 for causes unrelated to the lower urinary tract were eligible for enrolment.

International Society for Companion Animal Infectious Diseases (ISCAID) guidelines for the diagnosis and management of bacterial urinary tract infections in dogs and cats.

Urinary tract disease is a common clinical presentation in dogs and cats, and a common reason for antimicrobial prescription. This document is a revision and expansion on the 2011 Antimicrobial Use Guidelines for Treatment of Urinary Tract Disease in Dogs and Cats, providing recommendations for diagnosis and management of sporadic bacterial cystitis, recurrent bacterial cystitis, pyelonephritis, bacterial prostatitis, and subclinical bacteriuria. Issues pertaining to urinary catheters, medical dissolution of uroliths and prophylaxis for urological procedures are also addressed.

Diversity of Staphylococcus pseudintermedius in carriage sites and skin lesions of dogs with superficial bacterial folliculitis: potential implications for diagnostic testing and therapy.

Background: Staphylococcus pseudintermedius is genotypically diverse within the canine population and multiple strains may colonize individual dogs at any given time. If multiple strains with distinct antimicrobial resistance profiles are present in superficial bacterial folliculitis (SBF), sampling a single skin lesion for culture and antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) might be inadequate to select effective therapy.

Hypothesis/objectives: To investigate S.

Cross-sectional survey on the use and impact of the Danish national antibiotic use guidelines for companion animal practice.

Background: The Danish antibiotic use guidelines for companion animal practice were published by the Danish Veterinary Association in 2012. Since then, national surveillance data indicate a 10% reduction in the total use of antibiotics for companion animals, particularly a marked reduction in the use of third generation cephalosporins. The aim of the study was to assess if and how the guidelines have impacted diagnostic and antibiotic prescription habits of the users, and to identify user perceived barriers to implementation.

Clinical accuracy of point-of-care urine culture in general practice.

Objective: To assess the clinical accuracy (sensitivity (SEN), specificity (SPE), positive predictive value and negative predictive value) of two point-of-care (POC) urine culture tests for the identification of urinary tract infection (UTI) in general practice.

Design: Prospective diagnostic accuracy study comparing two index tests (Flexicult™ SSI-Urinary Kit or ID Flexicult™) with a reference standard (urine culture performed in the microbiological department).

Setting: General practice in the Copenhagen area patients.

Exploring the feasibility and synergistic value of the One Health approach in clinical research: protocol for a prospective observational study of diagnostic pathways in human and canine patients with suspected urinary tract infection.

Background: The One Health approach is emerging in response to the development of bacterial resistance. To the best of our knowledge, the possibility to use this approach in a clinical context has not yet been explored. Thus, in this paper, we report the procedures to implement a prospective observational study of diagnostic pathways in human and canine patients with suspected urinary tract infection as a means to assess the feasibility and synergistic value of setting up One Health clinical research projects and interventions.

Optimization and evaluation of Flexicult® Vet for detection, identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing of bacterial uropathogens in small animal veterinary practice.

Background: Urinary tract infection (UTI) is a common reason for antimicrobial prescription in dogs and cats. The objective of this study was to optimize and evaluate a culture-based point-of-care test for detection, identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing of bacterial uro-pathogens in veterinary practice.

Methods: Seventy-two urine samples from dogs and cats with suspected UTI presenting to seven veterinary facilities were used by clinical staff and an investigator to estimate sensitivity and specificity of Flexicult Vet A compared to laboratory reference standards for culture and susceptibility testing.

Quantitative assessment of faecal shedding of β-lactam-resistant Escherichia coli and enterococci in dogs.

Quantitative data on faecal shedding of antimicrobial resistant bacteria are crucial to assess the risk of transmission from dogs to other animals as well as humans. In this study we investigated prevalence and concentrations of β-lactam-resistant Escherichia coli and enterococci in the faeces of 108 dogs presenting at a veterinary hospital in Denmark. The dogs had not been treated with antimicrobials for 4 weeks prior to the study.

Point of care susceptibility testing in primary care - does it lead to a more appropriate prescription of antibiotics in patients with uncomplicated urinary tract infections? Protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Urinary tract infection (UTI) is a common infection in primary care and is the second leading reason for prescription of antibiotics in Denmark. The diagnosis is often based on symptoms and urine dip-stick, which has limited validity, causing the risk of unnecessary antibiotic prescription. Additionally, with increasing antibiotic resistance, the risk of choosing an antibiotic to which an infecting pathogen is resistant is rising.

Endogenous fibrinolytic potential in tissue-plasminogen activator-modified thromboelastography analysis is significantly decreased in dogs suffering from diseases predisposing to thrombosis.

Background: In people, studies have shown that resistance to fibrinolysis could be a contributing factor to thrombosis. Tissue-plasminogen-activated (t-PA) thromboelastography (TEG) has been used to evaluate endogenous fibrinolytic potential. In dogs, TEG has been used for the diagnosis of various hemostatic disorders, but studies evaluating fibrinolysis are limited.

Diagnosis and treatment of platelet hyperactivity in relation to thrombosis in dogs and cats.

Objective: To review the mechanisms of platelet activation and options for diagnosing and treating platelet hyperactivity in relation to thrombosis in dogs and cats.

Data Sources: Prospective, retrospective, and review articles, as well as textbook chapters in both human and veterinary medicine. Articles were primarily, but not exclusively, retrieved via Medline.

Thrombin-activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor activity in healthy and diseased dogs.

Background: In people, increased thrombin-activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor (TAFI) antigen has been associated with increased risk of thrombosis, and decreased TAFI may contribute to bleeding diathesis. TAFI activity in dogs has been described in experimental models, but not in dogs with spontaneous disease.

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare TAFI activity in healthy dogs with TAFI activity in dogs with spontaneous disease.

In vitro heparinization of canine whole blood with low molecular weight heparin (dalteparin) significantly and dose-dependently prolongs heparinase-modified tissue factor-activated thromboelastography parameters and prothrombinase-induced clotting time.

Background: Low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) is being used increasingly in veterinary medicine for both treatment and prophylaxis of thromboembolic disease, but no predictable patient-side method exists to monitor its effect.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate thromboelastography (TEG) and prothombinase-induced clotting time (PiCT) assays for detecting hemostatic alterations following in vitro heparinization of canine whole blood with dalteparin (Fragmin).

Methods: Citrated whole-blood samples were collected from 7 clinically healthy dogs.

Use of serum C-reactive protein as an early marker of inflammatory activity in canine type II immune-mediated polyarthritis: case report.

Background: Monitoring systemic inflammatory activity during steroid therapy of canine immune-mediated polyarthritis (IMPA) is difficult and mainly relies on clinical signs.

Case Presentation: Canine serum C-reactive protein (CRP) was measured serially and blinded during a 27-week follow-up period of a case of Anaplasma phagocytophilia induced type II immune-mediated polyarthritis.

Conclusion: WBC was, as expected, observed not to reflect the inflammatory activity during steroid treatment in a clinical useful manner, whereas, CRP is suggested a valuable unbiased marker of inflammatory activity during steroid treatment in this case.