A 10-year retrospective analysis (2012-2021) of hospitalizations resulting from dog bites in Southern Italy

Abstract

This study aimed to describe the incidence and characteristics of dog-bite injury hospitalizations (DBIH) in the largest administrative region of Italy (Sicily) over the 10-year period: 2012-2021. Four hundred and forty-nine cases were analyzed. Patients were divided into seven age groups: preschoolers (0–5 years), school-age children (6–12 years), teenagers (13–19 years), young adults (20–39 years), middle-aged adults (40–59 years), old adults (60–74 years), and the elderly (≥75 years). Association among categorical variables (age, gender, principal injury location) was evaluated using chi-square tests, and mean differences for normally distributed variables were assessed using one-way analysis of variance. Finally, a Poisson regression general linear model (GLM) analysis was used to model incidence data. The results revealed that the incidence of DBIH per 100,000 population increased from 0.648 in 2012 (95%CI 0.565–0.731) to 1.162 in 2021 (95%CI 1.078–1.247, P < 0.01). Incidence for both male and female victims also increased over the studied period (P < 0.05). We found an increasing trend of incidence in young and middle-aged adults (P < 0.05 and P < 0.005 respectively). Moreover, the most frequently injured age group by dogs was the preschooler group and, whilst we found a lower risk of being injured for males older than 20 years, no difference with females was observed. The location of lesions depended on the age group (P < 0.001). The number of days of DBIH increased significantly with age (P < 0.01). The increase of DBIH represents a public health problem that requires the development of preventive approaches.

Combining α-s1 Casozepine and Fluoxetine Treatment with a Behavioral Therapy Improves Symptoms in an Aggressive Dog: An Italian Case Report

“…Episodes of aggression can bring about injuries, transmission of diseases, and hospitalization of either humans or dogs themselves. These dangerous issues may cause owners to experience distress and poor life quality that they have to make the tough decision to turn to euthanasia for their pets or move them to shelters, where they hardly can recover from the pathological state because of the often inappropriate skills of the kennel staff [ 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 ]. It is worth underlying that aggression is not considered a diagnosis but rather a symptom [ 12 ], so it can be faced in a proper way only when a clear clinical profile has been drawn.…”