Due to increasing antimicrobial resistance, pressure on veterinarians is mounting to adhere to responsible use of antimicrobial drugs. Antimicrobials are frequently included in the treatment of systemically ill horses due to the strong likelihood of an infection and the innate difficulties in differentiating systemic inflammation secondary to noninfectious from infectious causes. In light of increasing antimicrobial drug resistance and the potential negative impact of antimicrobials on equine patients, every attempt should be made to identify noninfectious disease, choose first-line antimicrobials and discontinue treatment as soon as possible. In most cases, a short duration of antimicrobial therapy ranging from a single dose (e.g. preoperatively) to 24–72 h might be sufficient with long-term treatment being rarely required. This article aims to provide practical guidelines for antimicrobial drug usage in critically ill adult horses by describing ancillary diagnostic aids that can help establishing whether or not an infection is present, discussing commonly encountered pathogens and their typical antimicrobial drug sensitivity patterns, and providing some guidance how to safely shorten the duration of antimicrobial therapy.

中文翻译：

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在危重成年马中负责任地使用抗生素

由于抗微生物药物耐药性增加，兽医面临的压力越来越大，以坚持负责任地使用抗微生物药物。由于感染的可能性很大，并且在区分继发于非感染性和感染性原因的全身性炎症方面存在先天困难，因此抗生素经常用于治疗全身性疾病的马。鉴于抗菌药物耐药性增加以及抗菌药物对马患者的潜在负面影响，应尽一切努力确定非传染性疾病，选择一线抗菌药物并尽快停止治疗。在大多数情况下，从单一剂量（例如术前）到 24-72 小时的短期抗菌治疗可能就足够了，很少需要长期治疗。