Pediatric dog bite outcomes: infections and scars
Background There is little consensus on the management of dog bite victims. Few studies have examined long-term patient outcomes. This study was designed to evaluate two outcomes: infection and unfavorable scar formation.Methods A retrospective study of dog bite cases from January 2013 to May 2016 w...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMJ Publishing Group
2020-12-01
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| Series: | Trauma Surgery & Acute Care Open |
| Online Access: | https://tsaco.bmj.com/content/5/1/e000445.full |
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| author | Benjamin Drumright Breanna Borg Arlene Rozzelle Lydia Donoghue Christina Shanti |
| author_facet | Benjamin Drumright Breanna Borg Arlene Rozzelle Lydia Donoghue Christina Shanti |
| author_sort | Benjamin Drumright |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background There is little consensus on the management of dog bite victims. Few studies have examined long-term patient outcomes. This study was designed to evaluate two outcomes: infection and unfavorable scar formation.Methods A retrospective study of dog bite cases from January 2013 to May 2016 was conducted at our level I pediatric trauma center. Forty-five patients were identified who received definitive repair and had long-term follow-up for reasons other than rabies vaccination. Variables recorded were wound characteristics including presence of tissue loss, location in the hospital of the wound repair procedure, personnel performing the repair, postrepair infection, and a binary assessment of unfavorable scar formation.Results Unfavorable scarring was not significantly related to either repair location or personnel. Rate of infection was not significantly related to repair location. However, infection rate was significantly related to personnel performing the repair (p=0.002), with 8 of 11 (73%) infections after repair by emergency physicians compared with surgeons.Discussion The presence of infection was significantly related to bedside repair by emergency physicians. The data are suggestive of differences in wound preparation and repair technique between emergency department and surgical personnel. Standardizing technique could reduce infectious complications and long-term morbidity associated with repairing dog bites and other contaminated wounds. A robust and practical classification system for dog bite wounds would be helpful in stratifying these wounds for research comparison and healthcare triage.Level of evidence The level of evidence for this retrospective study is level III. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a2b3569b694c422b8f7be85b40c7bba8 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2397-5776 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2020-12-01 |
| publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Trauma Surgery & Acute Care Open |
| spelling | doaj-art-a2b3569b694c422b8f7be85b40c7bba82025-08-20T02:12:33ZengBMJ Publishing GroupTrauma Surgery & Acute Care Open2397-57762020-12-015110.1136/tsaco-2020-000445Pediatric dog bite outcomes: infections and scarsBenjamin Drumright0Breanna Borg1Arlene Rozzelle2Lydia Donoghue3Christina Shanti4Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, Michigan, USADepartment of Surgery, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, Michigan, USADepartment of Plastic Surgery, Children`s Hospital of Michigan, Detroit, Michigan, USADepartment of Pediatric Surgery, Children`s Hospital of Michigan, Detroit, Michigan, USADepartment of Pediatric Surgery, Children`s Hospital of Michigan, Detroit, Michigan, USABackground There is little consensus on the management of dog bite victims. Few studies have examined long-term patient outcomes. This study was designed to evaluate two outcomes: infection and unfavorable scar formation.Methods A retrospective study of dog bite cases from January 2013 to May 2016 was conducted at our level I pediatric trauma center. Forty-five patients were identified who received definitive repair and had long-term follow-up for reasons other than rabies vaccination. Variables recorded were wound characteristics including presence of tissue loss, location in the hospital of the wound repair procedure, personnel performing the repair, postrepair infection, and a binary assessment of unfavorable scar formation.Results Unfavorable scarring was not significantly related to either repair location or personnel. Rate of infection was not significantly related to repair location. However, infection rate was significantly related to personnel performing the repair (p=0.002), with 8 of 11 (73%) infections after repair by emergency physicians compared with surgeons.Discussion The presence of infection was significantly related to bedside repair by emergency physicians. The data are suggestive of differences in wound preparation and repair technique between emergency department and surgical personnel. Standardizing technique could reduce infectious complications and long-term morbidity associated with repairing dog bites and other contaminated wounds. A robust and practical classification system for dog bite wounds would be helpful in stratifying these wounds for research comparison and healthcare triage.Level of evidence The level of evidence for this retrospective study is level III.https://tsaco.bmj.com/content/5/1/e000445.full |
| spellingShingle | Benjamin Drumright Breanna Borg Arlene Rozzelle Lydia Donoghue Christina Shanti Pediatric dog bite outcomes: infections and scars Trauma Surgery & Acute Care Open |
| title | Pediatric dog bite outcomes: infections and scars |
| title_full | Pediatric dog bite outcomes: infections and scars |
| title_fullStr | Pediatric dog bite outcomes: infections and scars |
| title_full_unstemmed | Pediatric dog bite outcomes: infections and scars |
| title_short | Pediatric dog bite outcomes: infections and scars |
| title_sort | pediatric dog bite outcomes infections and scars |
| url | https://tsaco.bmj.com/content/5/1/e000445.full |
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