Veterinarians worldwide can more precisely predict the therapeutic outcome of administering clindamycin to dogs, thanks to new guidelines approved by the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards (NCCLS).

The NCCLS recently released the latest version of its M31-A publication, which lists newly approved minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and disk diffusion breakpoints for clindamycin therapy in canine skin and soft tissue infections caused by Staphylococcus species. Pharmacia Animal Health markets clindamycin under the Antirobe brand name.

"The new canine-pathogen-specific breakpoints for Antirobe will allow veterinary diagnostic laboratories to help veterinarians make more informed therapeutic decisions," says Joanne Bicknese, DVM, global veterinary medical director for Pharmacia Animal Health. "The veterinary-specific interpretive criteria also will support more accurate and consistent reporting, over time, of canine pathogens as susceptible or resistant to Antirobe."

Antirobe is available in capsules and an oral aquadrops formulation. Its excellent soft-tissue penetration and high level of activity in anaerobic environments make Antirobe an especially effective antimicrobial agent for treating canine dental infections, deep-wound injuries and osteomyelitis.

The NCCLS is a global, interdisciplinary, nonprofit, standards-developing and educational organization that promotes the development and use of voluntary consensus standards and guidelines within the healthcare community. The organization's veterinary standards are published every other year in an official publication called the M31-A Performance Standards for Antimicrobial Disk and Dilution Susceptibility Tests for Bacteria Isolated from Animals.