Human Bites

Human Bite Injuries: A Five-Year Retrospective Review of Cases from A Semi-Urban Area of Bayelsa State, Nigeria.

“…This figure is slightly lower than the report of human bite injuries from advance world like Europe whose incidence rangers between 3.6-23% of all bite injury ranking after dog and cat injuries. [1], [2], [3], [6], [8], [12], [15], [16] A higher male to female ratio has been reported in other studies…”

“…[1], [2], [3], [12], [15], [16] The incidence in our series was 3.2% of the total number of patients (1540) seen in the clinic within the period of study. This figure is slightly lower than the report of human bite injuries from advance world like Europe whose incidence rangers between 3.6-23% of all bite injury ranking after dog and cat injuries.…”

“…HBI results from either a direct occlusive bite, or clenched fist injury during a fight. In view of the innocent appearance of HBI, they are often neglected and overlooked [3] , and therefore the patient may not seek medical attention early and this may give rise to devastating complication such as tenosynovitis, which may result to permanent hand deformity. [4] HBI are prone to severe mixed synergistic infections caused by oral spirochetes, aerobic and anaerobic flora found in the mouth of the assailant or the skin of the victim.…”

“…[4] HBI are prone to severe mixed synergistic infections caused by oral spirochetes, aerobic and anaerobic flora found in the mouth of the assailant or the skin of the victim. [3], [4], [5] , and as a result, approximately 30-40% of human bite injuries become infected and staphylococcus aureus is isolated in 30% of cases. The hand is often the most affected site of HBI during a fight, but no part of the body is immune to injury.…”

“…Boyce 3 was one of the first hand surgeons to prove the value of prophylactic antibiotic agents in HBI. In addition to acute damage to tissues involved and localized infection, human bite injury can transmit life threatening infection like hepatitis B, hepatitis C and to a less extent HIV, tetanus, actinimycosis, and treponoma palladium among others.…”