Influences on antimicrobial prescribing behaviour of veterinary practitioners in cattle practice in Ireland

Abstract

Guidelines on prudent antimicrobial use in veterinary medicine have been developed to reduce inappropriate prescribing of antimicrobials. Such guidelines focus mainly on the clinical and pharmacological indications for prescribing. A questionnaire study of veterinary surgeons engaged in cattle practice was completed to determine if non-clinical issues influence the decision to prescribe antimicrobials, and to assess if pharmacological and non-pharmacological issues influence the choice of antimicrobial prescribed. Non-clinical issues, including issues related to professional stress, influenced the prescribing decision of the majority of respondents. However, the nature of the veterinarian-client relationship did not influence the prescribing behaviour of the majority of respondents. Pharmacological and non-pharmacological issues influenced the choice of antimicrobial prescribed. The veterinary surgeon's prior experience of a drug was considered 'often' or 'always' by 95.7 per cent of respondents when making this decision. The findings of this study have implications for the recognition and management of stress within the profession, and for the development of intervention strategies to reduce inappropriate antimicrobial prescribing.

Temporal relationship between decrease in antimicrobial prescription for Danish pigs and the “Yellow Card” legal intervention directed at reduction of antimicrobial use

“…Before the introduction of a vaccine in 2006, Porcine Circovirus (PCV2) generally persisted in the herds and the control of PMWS was directed at secondary infections and at associated co-factors for disease (Gibbons et al, 2013;Marshall and Levy, 2011;Segalés et al, 2005) The reason for the observed 10% increase from 2011 to 2012 remains unknown, but the patterns in antimicrobial use indicate a partial reversal of the preceding decrease,i.e. generally related to the same age groups, administration route and agents.…”

“…This has been investigated in a few European questionnaire studies (Busani et al, 2004;Gibbons et al, 2013;Vandeweerd et al, 2012;de Briyne et al, 2013). Among non-clinical factors, the owner's expectations of receiving a prescription was reported to affect the veterinarian's decision to treat the animals (Gibbons et al, 2013).…”

EU Insights – Perceptions on the human health impact of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and antibiotics use in animals across the EU

“…Interview topic guides and the online survey questionnaire were informed by a rapid literature review (Alarcon, 2013;BfR, 2015;Buller et al, 2015;Coyne et al, 2014;De Briyne et al, 2016;Dean et al, 2015;European Commission, 2005, 2010Fontané, 2015;Gibbons, 2013;Hughes, Hermans and Morgan, 2008;Jan et al, 2012;Laanen et al, 2014;Moreno, 2014;Schulze-Geisthövel et al, 2016;Speksnijder et al, 2014 andSwinkels, 2015;and Visschers et al, 2015).…”

Factors affecting dairy farmers’ attitudes towards antimicrobial medicine usage in cattle in England and Wales

“…Although veterinarians are usually responsible for choosing the appropriate antimicrobials for treatments, choices may also be influenced by farmers' own opinions and needs based on, for example, cost and profit margin, ease of medicine administration and withdrawal period (De Briyne et al, 2013;Gibbons et al, 2013). Then, once prescribed, little is known on how medicines are administered and managed by the farmers and whether alternative practices are taken into consideration by the farmer to reduce reliance on antibiotics.…”