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BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article

Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Veterinary Humanities and Social Sciences
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2024.1491054

Expectation of antibiotics amongst owners of dogs and/or cats during non-routine visits to veterinary clinics in Singapore: A cross-sectional study

Provisionally accepted
Seema Aithal Seema Aithal 1Huiling Guo Huiling Guo 1Boon Han Teo Boon Han Teo 2Timothy Chua Timothy Chua 2Zoe Jane-Lara Hildon Zoe Jane-Lara Hildon 3Angela Chow Angela Chow 1*
  • 1 Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore, Singapore
  • 2 Singapore Veterinary Association, Singapore, Singapore
  • 3 Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Objectives: The present study aimed to assess the factors associated with pet owners’ expectations for receiving antibiotics for their pet dogs and/or cats and the factors associated with pets receiving antibiotics during non-routine veterinary clinic consultations in Singapore. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on consenting pet owners who attended 16 veterinary clinics in Singapore, between March and December 2023. An online survey measured participants’ knowledge of antibiotic use, prior antibiotic use experience, expectation for antibiotics and receipt of antibiotics during the last non-routine clinic consultation for their pets. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to determine the factors associated with expectation of antibiotics and receipt of antibiotics. Results: Among the 821 pet owners, over one-in-four (27.5%) expected antibiotics. Owners with prior antibiotic use (adjusted OR 5.18, 95%CI 2.85-9.42) and poor knowledge of antibiotic use (adjusted OR 1.69, 95% CI 1.21–2.35) were 5 times and nearly 2 times as likely as owners without prior antibiotic use and those with good knowledge of antibiotic use respectively, to expect antibiotics for their pets. After adjusting for potential confounders, owners who expected antibiotics (adjusted OR 12.09, 95% CI 7.83-18.68) and had prior antibiotic use for their pets (adjusted OR 8.57, 95% CI 4.75-15.47) were more likely to receive antibiotics for their pets. Conclusions: Factors which significantly influenced expectation of antibiotics in pet owners included poor knowledge of antibiotic use and prior usage of antibiotics. This highlights the importance of effective communication by veterinarians to mitigate pet owners’ expectations to address inappropriate antibiotic prescribing.  

    Keywords: antimicrobial resistance, Antibiotic Expectation, One Health, Pet owners, Survey 4.1.Introduction

    Received: 05 Sep 2024; Accepted: 05 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Aithal, Guo, Teo, Chua, Hildon and Chow. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Angela Chow, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore, Singapore

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.