Hostage to history – questioning the duration of systemic antimicrobial therapy for the treatment of canine superficial bacterial folliculitis

• DOI: 10.2460/javma.22.03.0113
• Publication Date: 2022-05-04T15:19:04Z
• Authors: Candace A. Sousa; Jenifer Chatfield; Thomas M. File; Sandra N. Koch; Daryl B. Leu; Anette Loeffler; Klaus Earl Loft; Clarissa Souza; J. Scott Weese
• Keywords: Folliculitis; 03 medical and health sciences; Dogs; 0302 clinical medicine; Anti-Infective Agents; Prisoners; Animals; Humans; Dog Diseases; Anti-Bacterial Agents; 3. Good health

Abstract Current guidelines for the use of systemic antimicrobials for the treatment of superficial bacterial folliculitis in dogs include the recommendation that the disease be treated for a minimum of 3 weeks and for at least 1 week beyond clinical resolution. With increasing antimicrobial resistance being noted for bacteria involved in this condition, as well as the increased use of evidence-based medicine, this dogma needs to be reevaluated.