Antimicrobial resistance in methicillin susceptible and methicillin resistant Staphylococcus pseudintermedius of canine origin: literature review from 1980 to 2013.

Staphylococcus pseudintermedius is a commensal and a common opportunistic pathogen causing mainly infections of the integumentary system in dogs. The recent emergence of multidrug-resistant S. pseudintermedius isolates, in particular methicillin-resistant strains (MRSP) is a threat to small animal health and highlights the need for antimicrobial resistance surveillance to detect trends and potentially perform timeous interventions. We systematically reviewed 202 published articles to investigate temporal changes in antimicrobial resistance in clinical and commensal S. pseudintermedius isolated from dogs in 27 countries between 1980 and 2013. Resistance to the most common antimicrobials tested for in published studies and important for the treatment of staphylococcal infections in dogs were assessed separately for methicillin resistant (MRSP) and methicillin susceptible (MSSP) isolates. Stratified by MSSP and MRSP, no significant increases in antimicrobial resistance were observed over time, except for the penicillinase-labile penicillins (penicillin and ampicillin) among MSSP. However, in recent years, a few studies have reported higher-level of resistance to amikacin, gentamicin and enrofloxacin amongst MSSP. The review highlights inconsistencies between studies as a result of several factors, for example the use of different antimicrobial susceptibility testing methods and interpretation criteria. We recommend that data on susceptibility in important companion animal pathogens are collected and presented in a more harmonized way to allow more precise comparison of susceptibility patterns between studies. One way to accomplish this would be through systematic surveillance either at the country-level or at a larger scale across countries e.g. EU level.