The effectiveness of systemic antimicrobial treatment in canine superficial and deep pyoderma: a systematic review

Aim – To identify and evaluate existing evidence for the effectiveness of systemic antimicrobial treatments for naturally occurring superficial and deep canine pyoderma. Method – Electronic searches of PubMed, MEDLINE and CAB Direct were carried out (25 May 2011) without date or language restrictions. Proceedings of ESVD/ECVD, AAVD/ACVD, NAVDF and WCVD annual congresses were searched. Unpublished studies were sought via the Veterinary Dermatology discussion list and Veterinary Information Network. Results – Seventeen full‐length, peer‐reviewed controlled trials reporting clinical outcomes of systemic antimicrobial treatment for canine pyoderma were identified. Outcomes specific to superficial or deep pyoderma were reported in nine and five studies, respectively. Five studies reported outcomes only for nondifferentiated pyoderma depth. Heterogeneity of study designs and outcome measures made meta‐analysis inappropriate. A good level of evidence was identified supporting the high efficacy of subcutaneously injected cefovecin in superficial pyoderma and for oral amoxicillin–clavulanic acid in deep pyoderma. A fair level of evidence was identified for moderate to high efficacy of oral amoxicillin–clavulanic acid, clindamycin, cefadroxil, trimethoprim–sulphamethoxazole and sulfadimethoxine–ormetoprim in superficial pyoderma and oral pradofloxacin, oral cefadroxil and subcutaneously injected cefovecin in deep pyoderma. Eleven trials reported observations of adverse effects in treated pyoderma cases by intervention group; four dogs were withdrawn owing to the severity of adverse effects. Conclusions – There is a need for greater numbers of adequately sized, blinded, randomized controlled trials evaluating systemic antimicrobial interventions for canine pyoderma. Improved differentiation between superficial and deep pyoderma in outcome reporting, outcome measure standardization and association of outcomes with causative bacterial species and their resistance patterns are required.