Lower Urinary Tract Infections with Dr. Dowling
Patricia Dowling, DVM, MSc, DACVIM (Large Animal), DACVCP, Western College of Veterinary Medicine, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
In this episode, host Alyssa Watson, DVM, is joined by Patricia Dowling, DVM, MSc, DACVIM (Large Animal), DACVCP, to talk about her recent Clinician’s Brief article, “Lower Urinary Tract Infections.” Dr. Dowling breaks down the diagnosis of bacterial cystitis—and how often it’s overdiagnosed—along with reviewing the current categories of sporadic vs. recurrent bacterial cystitis. She also provides useful details about why amoxicillin is the go-to first-choice treatment and shares some subsequent antibiotic options to choose from, if you must.
Key Takeaways
Prescribe an NSAID to help with lower urinary tract symptoms while waiting for urine results.
True recurrence usually involves different bacteria; if the same bacteria is cultured then relapse is more likely.
Amoxicillin is the preferred first-line treatment.
Drugs that achieve intracellular concentrations like chloramphenicol and doxycycline can be considered in recurrent/relapsing E. coli cases.
Treatment durations are now typically in the 5-day range.
Resolution of symptoms following appropriate treatment is adequate, no need to re-culture.
About the Guest
Patricia M. Dowling, DVM, MSc, DACVIM (Large Animal), DACVCP, is a professor of veterinary clinical pharmacology at Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, and is the founder and codirector of the Canadian Global Food Animal Residue Avoidance Databank. She is also a drug therapy consultant and conducts research on pharmacokinetics.
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The Team:
Alyssa Watson, DVM - Host
Alexis Ussery - Producer & Digital Content Coordinator
Randall Stupka - Podcast Production & Sound Editing