In a 2025 single-center, retrospective study of 175 dogs with sepsis, a longer time to an appropriate antimicrobial was linked to a longer hospital stay. Time to any antimicrobial was not. Neither timing measure was significantly related to survival. The findings point to the value of prompt recognition and drug selection, but they do not show that faster treatment saves more dogs or that each hour of delay has a measurable effect.
What the study looked at
The paper, “The Effect of Time of Antimicrobial Administration on the Outcome of Septic Dogs,” was written by Alexis Kidd, James Colee, Veronica Perez-Rodriguez, and Jake Wolf. It appeared in the Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association, volume 61, issue 6, pages 167–174, dated November 1, 2025 (DOI 10.5326/JAAHA-MS-7473). The authors reviewed records from 175 dogs diagnosed with sepsis at one center. Because the design was retrospective, the timing data were collected from care that had already happened, not assigned by the investigators.
The study asked whether two timing measures were associated with length of hospitalization or with survival. AAHA’s Ben Williams summarized the paper on December 15, 2025, and that summary links to the journal article. The PubMed record for the study is available at PubMed record 41190688.
Two clocks: “any” versus “appropriate”
AAHA frames the reader’s question as whether it matters how quickly and how accurately antimicrobials are given. The study separates those two ideas into distinct variables:
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- Time to any antimicrobial measures how long it took for a dog to receive some antimicrobial drug.
- Time to an appropriate antimicrobial measures how long it took for a drug suited to the suspected infection to be given.
The two clocks can diverge. A dog may receive an antimicrobial quickly that proves not to be the right choice, and then the appropriate drug may come later. That is why the study tracked them separately.
The accessible PubMed abstract does not define what counted as “appropriate,” state where the timing clock started, or list the sepsis criteria used to select dogs. Readers should not assume those details; they would need to be checked in the full paper.
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Results at a glance
Timing measures and outcomes
| Timing measure | Hospitalization time | Survival |
|---|---|---|
| Time to any antimicrobial | Not significant (P=.11) | Not significant (P=.11) |
| Time to appropriate antimicrobial | Significant positive correlation (P=.004) | Not significant (P=.37) |
Other factors reported in the same analyses
| Factor | Compared with | Result |
|---|---|---|
| APPLEfast score | Survival | Significant (P=.03) |
| APPLEfast score | Time to any antimicrobial | Not significant (P=.07) |
| Source control | Survival | Significant (P=.05) |
| Source control | Time to appropriate antimicrobial | Significant (P<.01) |
The abstract reports no effect sizes for these associations and does not state their direction. It also gives no effect size for the hospitalization correlation, so it does not say how many extra days a given delay corresponded to.
How to read these findings
Correlation is not causation
Because the study is observational and retrospective, it can show that two measures moved together. It cannot show that a delay caused a longer stay. Dogs who arrived sicker, or whose infections were harder to identify, may have needed more time to receive the right drug and more time to recover, and the abstract does not explain how such differences were handled.
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A nonsignificant result is not proof of no effect
The survival P values of .11 and .37 mean the study did not detect a relationship between timing and survival. The authors explicitly call for more research on that question. A single-center study of 175 dogs can miss real effects, so these results should not be read as evidence that timing is irrelevant to survival.
Human sepsis figures do not transfer
AAHA’s summary mentions human sepsis estimates as background. Those figures come from human patients. This canine study did not confirm hour-by-hour mortality numbers for dogs, and none should be assumed from it.
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What this means if your dog may have sepsis
Sepsis is a body-wide response to infection that can worsen quickly. The study supports two practical ideas: recognizing the problem early, and choosing an antimicrobial that fits the infection, both matter for how long a dog stays in hospital. The choice of drug belongs to your veterinarian, who weighs the likely source of infection, the dog’s condition, and local patterns of antimicrobial resistance. Owners cannot judge which drug is “appropriate” from the outside.
Some general warning signs call for urgent veterinary care, including marked lethargy or weakness, collapse, pale or gray gums, fast or labored breathing, vomiting, and a fever or unusually low body temperature. Do not wait to see whether the signs pass, and do not give leftover antibiotics from a previous illness.
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Questions to ask your veterinarian
- What is the suspected source of infection, and what is the plan to control it?
- Which antimicrobial is being started, and why was it chosen for this infection?
- How soon will you reassess whether the drug is working?
- What signs would mean the plan needs to change?
- Is my dog likely to need hospitalization, and for how long?
The AAHA summary of the study is available at AAHA’s page on the JAAHA study, which also links to the full journal article.
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