Antimicrobial Usage in Horses: The Use of Electronic Data, Data Curation, and First Results.
Authors: Schnepf Anne, Bienert-Zeit Astrid, Ertugrul Hatice, Wagels Rolf, Werner Nicole, Hartmann Maria, Feige Karsten, Kreienbrock Lothar
Journal: Frontiers in veterinary science
Summary
# Editorial Summary Electronic practice management systems (EPMS) offer an underexploited opportunity to monitor antimicrobial usage (AMU) in equine practice, particularly given the absence of structured surveillance programmes for horses in Germany and most European countries. Researchers at the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover extracted and curated data from their clinic's EPMS covering all 34,432 drug applications administered during 2017, developing a methodology to analyse AMU patterns and quantify active ingredient usage across 1,773 treated horses. Sulfonamides dominated prescribing (51.95% of total active ingredient weight), followed by penicillins (18.55%) and nitroimidazoles (15.30%), with encouragingly low reliance on critically important antibiotics—only 0.15% of highest-priority CIA drugs were used—though high-priority CIAs accounted for approximately one-fifth of usage. Dose analysis revealed strong adherence to recommended daily doses, with 93.55% of administrations falling within expected ranges, suggesting generally appropriate dosing practices at this institution. This work demonstrates that systematic AMU data extraction from digital records is achievable and transferable across clinics, but success depends critically on consistent documentation standards and close collaboration between veterinarians and data analysts—a consideration essential for any equine practice considering participation in future AMU surveillance initiatives.
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Practical Takeaways
- •Nearly half of hospitalized horses receive antimicrobial therapy; establishing baseline usage patterns through practice data is essential for identifying inappropriate prescribing and reducing resistance
- •Most practitioners are dosing antimicrobials correctly (93.55% within range), suggesting education should focus on indications rather than dose calculation
- •Your practice management software contains valuable resistance-surveillance data—work with your software provider and veterinary colleagues to enable systematic monitoring of your own antimicrobial patterns
Key Findings
- •47.21% of 1,773 horses treated received antimicrobial drugs, with 6,489 antimicrobial applications documented (18.85% of all drug applications)
- •Sulfonamides were the most commonly used antibiotic class (51.95% of total active ingredients by weight), followed by penicillins (18.55%) and nitroimidazoles (15.30%)
- •93.55% of administered doses fell within the recommended daily dose range, with only 3.26% below and 3.18% above recommended levels
- •Electronic practice management software data can be successfully analyzed for antimicrobial usage monitoring in equine clinics with appropriate data curation methods