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Antimicrobial use in veterinary practice is under increasing scrutiny as a contributor to the rising risk of multidrug resistant bacterial pathogens. Surveillance of antimicrobial use in food animals is extensive globally, but population level data is lacking for companion animals. Lack of census data means cohorts are usually restricted to those attending veterinary practices, which precludes aggregating data from large cohorts of animals, independent of their need for veterinary intervention. The objective of this study was to investigate the exposure of dogs and cats to antimicrobials at a population level. A retrospective cohort study was performed using a novel data source; a pet insurance database. The rate of antimicrobial prescribing, and the rate of prescribing of critically important antimicrobials, was measured in a large population of dogs (813,172 dog-years) and cats (129,232 cat-years) from 2013 - 2017. The incidence rate of antimicrobial prescribing was 5.8 prescriptions per 10 dog years (95% CI 5.8-5.9 per 10 dog years) and 3.1 prescriptions per 10 cat years (95% CI 3.1-3.2 per 10 cat years). Critically important antimicrobials accounted for 8% of all the antimicrobials prescribed over the 4-year study. Cats were 4.8-fold more likely than dogs to be prescribed 3rd-generation cephalosporins. The level of antimicrobial exposure in dogs and cats was less than half that for the coincident human community. Data such as this provides a unique opportunity to monitor antimicrobial prescribing in veterinary medicine, which is a critical component of optimal antimicrobial stewardship., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Knowledge of the most common presenting complaints and diagnoses in companion animals is valuable in preparing veterinary students and veterinarians to manage the most frequently observed conditions in clinical practice. Pet insurance databases provide access to large sample populations and have been previously used to describe disease incidence in companion animals. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of presenting complaints and diagnoses in insured Australian dogs through the use of a pet insurance database. Analysis of a de‐identified dataset containing pet insurance claims associated with presenting complaints and diagnoses from 488,472 insured Australian dogs insured in the years 2016 and 2017, was performed. Annual incidence rates of presenting complaints and diagnoses were calculated and expressed as, number of events per 1,000 dog years at risk. The presenting complaints with the highest incidence were vomiting (14.21 events per 1,000 dog years at risk in 2016, 15.80 events per 1,000 dog years at risk in 2017) and pruritus (8.79 events per 1,000 dog years at risk in 2016, 10.30 events per 1,000 dog years at risk in 2017). Presenting complaints affecting the gastrointestinal system were the most common (19.20 events per 1,000 dog years at risk in 2016, 20.77 events per 1,000 dog years at risk in 2017). The diagnoses with the highest incidence were otitis externa (34.12 events per 1,000 dog years at risk in 2016, 34.82 events per 1,000 dog years at risk in 2017) and dermatitis (28.05 events per 1,000 dog years at risk in 2016, 29.99 events per 1,000 dog years at risk in 2017). Diagnoses affecting the integument were the most common (216.56 events per 1,000 dog years at risk in 2016, 219.06 events per 1,000 dog years at risk in 2017). The results from this study can aid in the design of relevant veterinary curricula and may be helpful in prioritising research on common clinical conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]