Duration of antibiotic therapy for canine superficial pyoderma: Is the one-week post resolution of clinical signs a valid rule-of-thumb?

Canine superficial pyoderma is a bacterial infection involving the skin and it is the main clinical presentation leading to antibiotic use in small animal practice. Currently the treatment of superficial pyoderma has become a challenge due to the evolving recognition of resistant infections, and there is clear evidence that duration of antibiotic therapy increases the risk for bacterial resistance. Therefore, research is needed to determine if canine superficial pyoderma can be treated for a shorter duration than the current recommendation of seven days past clinical resolution of lesions.

The purpose of the study is to determine if superficial pyoderma recurs sooner in dogs not treated beyond clinical resolution of the infection.

Participation Requirements:

Inclusion criteria:
• Dogs must present to the dermatology service at the University of Illinois veterinary teaching hospital to be enrolled in the study.
• Dogs of any age, sex or breed diagnosed with superficial pyoderma based on clinical signs and presence of intracellular and/or extracellular coccoid bacteria and degenerate neutrophils on cytology.
• Dogs that require systemic antibiotic therapy to treat the superficial pyoderma.
• Owners who are willing to participate in the study and comply with the study protocol.

Exclusion criteria:
• Dogs with deep pyoderma.
• Dogs that cannot receive systemic antibiotic for any reason.

Owners Responsibilities:
• Owners will be asked to bring the dog in for a recheck exam every two weeks until two months after discontinuation of antibiotic therapy or until pyoderma recurs, whichever comes first.
• An aerobic bacterial culture and susceptibility will be performed at study entrance and at the time of bacterial infection recurrence during the 2 months follow up.
• Cytology will be performed on the first appointment during the study entrance and at the time of the bacterial infection recurrence to confirm the presence of pyoderma.