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Volume 26, Number 8—August 2020
Research

Factors Associated with Prescription of Antimicrobial Drugs for Dogs and Cats, United Kingdom, 2014–2016

David A. SingletonComments to Author , Gina L. Pinchbeck, Alan D. Radford, Elena Arsevska, Susan Dawson, Philip H. Jones, Peter-John M. Noble, Nicola J. Williams, and Fernando Sánchez-Vizcaíno
Author affiliations: University of Liverpool Leahurst Campus, Neston, UK (D.A. Singleton, G.L. Pinchbeck, A.D. Radford, E. Arsevska, S. Dawson, P.H. Jones, P.-J.M. Noble, N.J. Williams); Animal and Plant Health Agency, Shrewsbury, UK (P.H. Jones); University of Bristol Langford Campus, Bristol, UK (F. Sánchez-Vizcaíno)

Main Article

Table 7

Results from a multivariable mixed effect logistic regression model assessing the association between a range of categorical animal, owner, practitioner and practice-related factors and the probability of prescribing a topical antimicrobial in cats, United Kingdom, 2014–2016*

Category β SE OR (95% CI) p value
Intercept
England −3.98 0.17 0.02 (0.01–0.03) -NA
Scotland −3.94 0.19 0.02 (0.01–0.03) NA
Wales
 −3.91
 0.19
 0.02 (0.01–0.03)
 NA
Categorical factors
Main presenting complaint
Gastroenteric NA NA Referent NA
Kidney disease −0.98 0.50 0.38 (0.14–1.00) 0.05
Other unwell 1.79 0.16 5.96 (4.37–8.12) <0.01
Pruritus 2.13 0.16 8.37 (6.09–11.51) <0.01
Respiratory 1.21 0.18 3.36 (2.35–4.82) <0.01
Trauma 1.34 0.17 3.82 (2.76–5.28) <0.01
Tumor 0.38 0.25 1.46 (0.90–2.36) 0.12
Sex
F NA NA Referent NA
M 0.05 0.03 1.05 (1.00–1.11) 0.06
Neutered status
Not neutered NA NA Referent NA
Neutered −0.06 0.04 0.94 (0.88–1.01) 0.09
Insurance status
Not insured NA NA Referent NA
Insured −0.13 0.04 0.88 (0.82–0.95) <0.01
Genetic breed group (31)
West Europe NA NA Referent NA
Asian −0.14 0.09 0.87 (0.73–1.03) 0.09
Crossbreed −0.50 0.05 0.61 (0.55–0.67) <0.01
Mediterranean −0.40 0.50 0.67 (0.25–1.78) 0.42
Unclassified −0.24 0.09 0.79 (0.66–0.95) 0.01
Unknown −0.43 0.08 0.65 (0.56–0.77) <0.01
Referral interest
No NA NA Referent NA
Yes
 0.08
 0.05
 1.08 (0.98–1.19)
 0.11
Continuous factors
Age
Linear 0.08 0.26 1.09 (0.65–1.82) 0.75
Quadratic −0.12 0.14 0.89 (0.68–1.17) 0.40
Cubic
 −0.14
 0.14
 0.87 (0.66–1.15)
 0.34
Interaction terms
Main presenting complaint and age
Linear age interaction
Kidney disease 1.14 0.68 3.11 (0.82–11.84) 0.10
Other unwell −0.61 0.27 0.54 (0.32–0.91) 0.02
Pruritus 0.18 0.27 1.19 (0.70–2.03) 0.52
Respiratory −0.34 0.31 0.71 (0.39–1.29) 0.26
Trauma 0.07 0.28 1.07 (0.62–1.85) 0.81
Tumor −0.07 0.38 0.93 (0.44–1.95) 0.85
Quadratic age interaction
Kidney disease 0.52 0.32 1.69 (0.89–3.18) 0.11
Other unwell 0.16 0.14 1.17 (0.89–1.53) 0.26
Pruritus 0.42 0.14 1.52 (1.15–2.02) <0.01
Respiratory 0.26 0.16 1.29 (0.95–1.77) 0.11
Trauma 0.22 0.15 1.24 (0.93–1.65) 0.14
Tumor 0.16 0.20 1.18 (0.80–1.73) 0.41
Cubic age interaction
Kidney disease −0.51 0.33 0.60 (0.31–1.16) 0.13
Other unwell 0.14 0.14 1.15 (0.87–1.52) 0.33
Pruritus 0.04 0.15 1.04 (0.78–1.38) 0.81
Respiratory −0.03 0.16 0.97 (0.70–1.33) 0.84
Trauma 0.06 0.15 1.06 (0.79–1.42) 0.70
Tumor 0.10 0.19 1.10 (0.75–1.61) 0.62

*n = 6,769/111,139 sick consultations. Random effect variance (± SD): animal 0.82 (0.90,) site 0.02 (0.15), practice 0.03 (0.16). Significant (p<0.05) results are displayed in boldface. OR, odds ratio; RCVS, Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.

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