Surgical Treatment of Pediatric Dog-bite Wounds: A 5-year Retrospective Review
Introduction: Dog bites are a significant health concern in the pediatric population. Few studies published to date have stratified the injuries caused by dog bites based on surgical severity to elucidate the contributing risk factors. Methods: We used an electronic hospital database to identify all...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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eScholarship Publishing, University of California
2021-09-01
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| Series: | Western Journal of Emergency Medicine |
| Online Access: | https://escholarship.org/uc/item/103520z2 |
| _version_ | 1818740291070328832 |
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| author | Christine J. Lee Ekaterina Tiourin Sawyer Schuljak Jonathan Phan Theodore W. Heyming John Schomberg Elizabeth Wallace Yigit S. Guner Raj M. Vyas |
| author_facet | Christine J. Lee Ekaterina Tiourin Sawyer Schuljak Jonathan Phan Theodore W. Heyming John Schomberg Elizabeth Wallace Yigit S. Guner Raj M. Vyas |
| author_sort | Christine J. Lee |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Introduction: Dog bites are a significant health concern in the pediatric population. Few studies published to date have stratified the injuries caused by dog bites based on surgical severity to elucidate the contributing risk factors. Methods: We used an electronic hospital database to identify all patients ≤17 years of age treated for dog bites from 2013–2018. Data related to patient demographics, injury type, intervention, dog breed, and payer source were collected. We extracted socioeconomic data from the American Community Survey. Data related to dog breed was obtained from public records on dog licenses. We calculated descriptive statistics as well as relative risk of dog bite by breed. Results: Of 1,252 injuries identified in 967 pediatric patients, 17.1% required consultation with a surgical specialist for repair. Bites affecting the head/neck region were most common (61.7%) and most likely to require operating room intervention (P = 0.002). The relative risk of a patient being bitten in a low-income area was 2.24, compared with 0.46 in a high-income area. Among cases where the breed of dog responsible for the bite was known, the dog breed most commonly associated with severe bites was the pit bull (relative risk vs German shepherd 8.53, relative risk vs unknown, 3.28). Conclusion: The majority of injuries did not require repair and were sufficiently handled by an emergency physician. Repair by a surgical specialist was required <20% of the time, usually for bites affecting the head/neck region. Disparities in the frequency and characteristics of dog bites across socioeconomic levels and dog breeds suggest that public education efforts may decrease the incidence of pediatric dog bites. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-18T01:38:23Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-dece38d2964648518095795f5bdb70f0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1936-9018 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-18T01:38:23Z |
| publishDate | 2021-09-01 |
| publisher | eScholarship Publishing, University of California |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Western Journal of Emergency Medicine |
| spelling | doaj.art-dece38d2964648518095795f5bdb70f02022-12-21T21:25:24ZengeScholarship Publishing, University of CaliforniaWestern Journal of Emergency Medicine1936-90182021-09-0122610.5811/westjem.2021.9.52235wjem-22-1301Surgical Treatment of Pediatric Dog-bite Wounds: A 5-year Retrospective ReviewChristine J. Lee0Ekaterina Tiourin1Sawyer Schuljak2Jonathan Phan3Theodore W. Heyming4John Schomberg5Elizabeth Wallace6Yigit S. Guner7Raj M. Vyas8University of California – Irvine School of Medicine, Department of Plastic Surgery, Orange, CaliforniaUniversity of California – Irvine School of Medicine, Department of Plastic Surgery, Orange, CaliforniaUniversity of California - Riverside, School of Medicine, Riverside, CaliforniaUniversity of California - Riverside, School of Medicine, Riverside, CaliforniaChildren’s Hospital Orange County, Department of Emergency Medicine, Orange, CaliforniaChildren’s Hospital Orange County, Department of Nursing, Orange, CaliforniaChildren’s Hospital Orange County, CHOC Research Institute, Orange, CaliforniaUniversity of California – Irvine Medical Center, Department of Surgery, Irvine, CaliforniaUniversity of California – Irvine School of Medicine, Department of Plastic Surgery, Orange, CaliforniaIntroduction: Dog bites are a significant health concern in the pediatric population. Few studies published to date have stratified the injuries caused by dog bites based on surgical severity to elucidate the contributing risk factors. Methods: We used an electronic hospital database to identify all patients ≤17 years of age treated for dog bites from 2013–2018. Data related to patient demographics, injury type, intervention, dog breed, and payer source were collected. We extracted socioeconomic data from the American Community Survey. Data related to dog breed was obtained from public records on dog licenses. We calculated descriptive statistics as well as relative risk of dog bite by breed. Results: Of 1,252 injuries identified in 967 pediatric patients, 17.1% required consultation with a surgical specialist for repair. Bites affecting the head/neck region were most common (61.7%) and most likely to require operating room intervention (P = 0.002). The relative risk of a patient being bitten in a low-income area was 2.24, compared with 0.46 in a high-income area. Among cases where the breed of dog responsible for the bite was known, the dog breed most commonly associated with severe bites was the pit bull (relative risk vs German shepherd 8.53, relative risk vs unknown, 3.28). Conclusion: The majority of injuries did not require repair and were sufficiently handled by an emergency physician. Repair by a surgical specialist was required <20% of the time, usually for bites affecting the head/neck region. Disparities in the frequency and characteristics of dog bites across socioeconomic levels and dog breeds suggest that public education efforts may decrease the incidence of pediatric dog bites.https://escholarship.org/uc/item/103520z2 |
| spellingShingle | Christine J. Lee Ekaterina Tiourin Sawyer Schuljak Jonathan Phan Theodore W. Heyming John Schomberg Elizabeth Wallace Yigit S. Guner Raj M. Vyas Surgical Treatment of Pediatric Dog-bite Wounds: A 5-year Retrospective Review Western Journal of Emergency Medicine |
| title | Surgical Treatment of Pediatric Dog-bite Wounds: A 5-year Retrospective Review |
| title_full | Surgical Treatment of Pediatric Dog-bite Wounds: A 5-year Retrospective Review |
| title_fullStr | Surgical Treatment of Pediatric Dog-bite Wounds: A 5-year Retrospective Review |
| title_full_unstemmed | Surgical Treatment of Pediatric Dog-bite Wounds: A 5-year Retrospective Review |
| title_short | Surgical Treatment of Pediatric Dog-bite Wounds: A 5-year Retrospective Review |
| title_sort | surgical treatment of pediatric dog bite wounds a 5 year retrospective review |
| url | https://escholarship.org/uc/item/103520z2 |
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