Hannah Shotnes¹, Hannah Darcy²

¹University of Liverpool (Institue of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences), Neston, United Kingdom. ²The Ralph Veterinary Referral Centre, Marlow, United Kingdom

Objectives

Compare juvenile (<12 months of age) antibiotic use between dogs diagnosed with chronic inflammatory enteropathy (CIE) and a control group.

Methods

Retrospective case-control study at a referral centre. CIE diagnosis was based on chronic gastrointestinal signs and exclusion of alternative diagnoses on bloodwork, faecal testing and abdominal imaging. Control cases were orthopaedic presentations with no history of chronic gastrointestinal signs. Antibiotic use data were collected from patient records, including length, drug and indication for each antibiotic course. Intergroup associations were assessed with non-parametric statistics.

Results

52 cases met defined CIE criteria; an equal number of control cases were included. Thirty-one CIE cases received at least one antibiotic course (87 courses total) compared to 22 control cases (38 courses total). Poodle- (p=0.014) and spaniel-based (p=0.042) breeds were over-represented in the CIE group. Prevalence of prior antibiotic exposure was not significantly different between groups. Number of antibiotic courses per patient was significantly higher in the CIE group (median 1) versus the control group (median 0, p<0.01). There was a significantly greater number of patients having received three or more antibiotic courses in the CIE group (13 compared to 3, p=0.014).

Statement: Impact/ Clinical Significance

High numbers (>/=3) of juvenile antibiotic courses appear potentially associated with a future CIE diagnosis. Whilst this does not represent a causative relationship, this finding should raise awareness of potential health implications with repeated use of antibiotics in young dogs.