Evidence-based resources to improve antimicrobial stewardship

New alternatives to antimicrobials (AM) have been actively sought for human and animals, and several restrictive measures to AM use have been put in place, especially in Europe. Nevertheless, these efforts have been insufficient to win the battle against the antimicrobial resistance “silent pandemic”. Antimicrobial stewardship is a wide-ranging concept that has become the cornerstone to fight AMR. Scientists, academia, policy makers and veterinary practitioners are joining efforts, particularly in commercial farms, where improved husbandry, animal welfare, vaccines and biosecurity have been key to move towards a more responsible and targeted use of antimicrobials. Still, even if AM consumption is far less in companion animals, their contribution to AMR shouldn’t be neglected, as highly resistant strains have been found to be shared between pets and their owners, including in Portugal. Clear and consensual treatment guidelines, clinical protocols, infection control, SOP and workflow solutions, as the basis for a comprehensive AM stewardship are still absent in most countries and their veterinary practices. Also, evidence-based educational tools and resources to support practitioners in a judicious AM choice are still too few. Moreover, AM prescribing behaviour in companion animal practice seems to be more challenging to address, as non-scientific issues are prone to hamper attitude change: here a complex interaction between vets, owners and prescribing culture of the practice itself can result in significant prescribing differences. Pets owners’ perceptions and expectations of AM usage and gaps in communication skills of veterinary clinicians should also be acknowledged.

Providing solid data and robust evidence are the best way for supporting good strategies for companion animal antimicrobial stewardship and prescription behaviour changes. The research proposal will gather new significant data towards an evidence-based antimicrobial stewardship in companion animals.Team members are actively committed to the network ENOVAT- European Network for Optimization of Antimicrobial Treatment that is currently aiming at developing treatment guidelines for a number of clinical conditions and that would largely benefit from field evaluations, such as the surgical prophylaxis guidelines.  The evidence-based knowledge produced will provide valuable resources for improved AM prescription behaviour in companion animals and a solid ground for a comprehensive national antimicrobial stewardship scheme that could be adopted in other settings and beyond companion animals veterinary practice.