Rate of surgical site and urinary tract infections in dogs after cessation of antibiotics following spinal surgery.

Background: Excessive use of antimicrobials and the increasing occurrence of antimicrobial resistance are major challenges in both human and veterinary medicine. The role of prophylactic antimicrobial therapy in orthopaedic and neurosurgeries in dogs can be questioned. The aim of this study was to evaluate the rate of surgical site infections (SSI) and urinary tract infections (UTI) in dogs after cessation of antibiotics following spinal surgery.

Methods: Electronic patient records from January 2018 to December 2019 were retrospectively reviewed to identify dogs that underwent spinal surgery (n = 158). Antimicrobial drug use and the presence of SSI and UTI were recorded.

Results: Overall, SSI developed in 1.3% of dogs that underwent spinal surgery, while UTI developed in 8.2%. Multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria were detected in 5.1% of dogs. The rates of SSI, UTI and MDR did not differ significantly between dogs that received postoperative antimicrobial therapy and those that did not.

Limitations: The main limitation of this study was its retrospective design.

Conclusion: Overall, the SSI rate in this study was low. Cessation of postoperative antimicrobial use in dogs following spinal surgery did not have a negative effect on either SSI development or the occurrence of UTI.