Paper published: pharmaceutical prescription in canine acute diarrhoea
![Brown shaggy puppy laying on wooden floor looking sad](/media/livacuk/savsnet/News_acute,diarrhoea.jpg)
Our latest paper uses electronic health data from veterinary consultations to explore the management acute canine diarrhoea. It has been published in Frontiers in Veterinary Science.
- Canine acute diarrhoea is frequently observed in first opinion practice, though little is known about commonly used diagnostic or therapeutic management plans, including use of antimicrobials.
- Use of bacteriological and/or parasitological diagnostic tests were uncommon (3.2% of cases, 95% confidence interval, CI, 2.4–4.0), though systemic antimicrobials were the most commonly prescribed pharmaceutical agents (49.7% of cases, 95% CI 46.1–53.2).
- Gastrointestinal agents (e.g., antacids) were prescribed to 37.7% of cases (95% CI 35.4–39.9), and were most frequently prescribed to vomiting dogs regardless of presence (OR 46.4, 95% CI 19.4–110.8) or absence of blood (OR 17.1, 95% CI 13.4–21.9).
- Gastrointestinal nutraceuticals (e.g., probiotics) were dispensed to 60.8% of cases (95% CI 57.1–64.6), these cases less frequently presenting with moderate/severe clinical signs (OR 0.6, 95% CI 0.5–0.8).
Access the paper here.
See the infographic summarising this work here