Updates in Duration of Antibiotic Therapy for Treatment of Pneumonia in Dogs

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Free for Elite Members

July 2025

In today’s VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, we’re tackling a hot topic: how long should dogs with bacterial pneumonia remain on antimicrobials? While traditional recommendations from the 2017 ISCAID (International Society for Companion Animal Infectious Diseases) guidelines advise 4-6 weeks of antimicrobial treatment, we acknowledge that strong veterinary evidence has been lacking. Tune in to find out what this new study, “Clinical course and radiographic resolution of pneumonia in dogs treated with a shorter versus longer course of antimicrobials: a randomized, double-masked, placebo-controlled study” suggests!

Reference:

Reineke EL, McClosky ME, Mauro KD, et al. Clinical course and radiographic resolution of pneumonia in dogs treated with a shorter versus longer course of antimicrobials: a randomized, double-masked, placebo-controlled study. JAVMA. 2025;263(1):47-53.

Resources: 

  1. Lappin MR, Blondeau J, Boothe D, et al. Antimicrobial use guidelines for treatment of respiratory tract dis- ease in dogs and cats: Antimicrobial Guidelines Working Group of the International Society for Companion Animal Infectious Diseases. J Vet Intern Med. 2017;31(2):279– 294.
  2. Wayne A, Davis M, Sinnott VB, Bracker K. Outcomes in dogs with uncomplicated, presumptive bacterial pneumonia treated with short or long course antibiotics. Can Vet J. 2017;58(6):610–613.
  3. Kogan DA, Johnson LR, Jandrey KE, Pollard RE. Clinical, clinicopathologic, and radiographic findings in dogs with aspiration pneumonia: 88 cases (2004–2006). J Am Vet Med Assoc. 2008;233(11):1742–1747.

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