Is Meropenem a strong antibiotic for my dog's serious infection?

It is difficult to say if the elevated creatinine is due to the medications or not since you don't have a "before" creatinine. Meropenem is not known to cause renal side effects unless the dog already had a renal condition to start with. The known side effects of meropenem may include: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, skin rashes, phlebitis, eosinophilia, transient elevation of liver function tests and seizures (esp. in patients with CNS dysfunction and renal failure). I don't have enough information to know if he can be cured. You didn't say what his original problem was. Why was he given all those antibiotics? What was the illness?

That depends. Ideally a culture and sensitivity is run on the urine to identify what bacteria is present and guide what antibiotic should be used. However, this is sometimes cost prohibitive. Cefpodoxime is a perfectly reasonable choice if we don't have a urine culture to go off of, or if we don't yet have those results. If Laddie is eating,is not vomiting or having diarrhea, and isn't in acute kidney failure due to the infection, oral antibiotics alone are probably just fine. However if she is vomiting, is not eating, or is acting very lethargic, she should be re-evaluated by a vet. It is wise to monitor the creatinine value in the blood. If it is elevated, often dogs are treated with IV fluids as well as antibiotics. The creatinine can be measured daily with a blood test. I hope that is helpful, and I'm so sorry we weren't able to get to your question sooner! Thank you for asking Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Please don't hesitate to post to the forum again or for the fastest, most interactive service you can request a consultation. Best of luck with Laddie!

Although cephalexin and cefpodoxime are both cephalosporin antibiotics, they are different drugs - so it's certainly possible for an organism to be susceptible to one and not the other. Culture results generally give us a very good idea of what antibiotics are likely to be useful in treating the infection, so I don't see any problem with using cefpodoxime if this is what your veterinarian has recommended.

Hello, and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Yes, this is a common antibiotic used in dogs for a variety of infections. I prescribe it routinely in my patients! I recommend giving it according to your vet's recommendations. The specific mg dose will be determined according to your dog's weight, and without that information I can't verify the specific dose - but I do not worry about this medication harming the kidneys. Hope this helps!

This would depend on the type of antibiotic being treated. Do not medicate your pet without the advice of your veterinarian. Inappropriate antibiotic use can lead to resistant bacteria and may complicate any underlying condition.

In dogs, currently erythromycin is considered the drug of choice in treating campylobacter. That being said, we are seeing cases with drug resistance with this bacteria, so ideally a culture and sensitivity is performed to determine the best drug in each individual situation. This is a bacteria that can also make humans ill, so precautions should be taken to prevent transmission including good hygeine/hand washing and avoiding the pet being around people with suppressed immune systems. You can read more about this disease at http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=2232 and https://www.cdc.gov/campylobacter/index.html

Hello, and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. The most important aspect of treating an ear infection is applying the appropriate medication (determined based on ear cytology, or looking at a sample of ear discharge on a microscope slide) directly into the ear canal as a topical treatment to the infection. Sometimes, particularly if the eardrum is ruptured, a dog may be put on an oral course of antibiotics and/or antifungals (depending on the type of infection), but penicillin would not be a usual antibiotic choice as it is unlikely to address the more common causes of ear infections. Therefore, injectable penicillin is not a typical component of treating an ear infection. I recommend you have Aerial seen by your primary veterinarian, and they can help guide you on an appropriate treatment of the infection; injectable antibiotics should never be used without the guidance of a veterinarian.