Antimicrobial stewardship in companion animal practice: an implementation trial in 135 general practice veterinary clinics

Antimicrobial stewardship programmes (ASPs) have been widely implemented in medical practice to improve antimicrobial prescribing and reduce selection for multidrug-resistant pathogens.

These AMS interventions had a positive impact in a large group of general veterinary practices, resulting in a decline in overall antimicrobial use and a shift towards use of antimicrobials rated as low importance, with the greatest impact in high-prescribing clinics.