Surgical delay in the management of dog bite injuries in children, does it increase the risk of infection?

Akhtar, Nadeem; Smith, Matthew J.; McKirdy, Stuart; Page, Robert E.

doi:10.1016/j.bjps.2005.05.005

Cited by 49 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 15 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…The age categories of bitten children correspond to data by e.g. Sacks et al (2000), Wilson et al (2003); Akhtar et al (2006); Kaye et al (2009). Furthermore, in our survey, too, children were most frequently bitten by a known (i.e.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 72%

“…Furthermore, in our survey, too, children were most frequently bitten by a known (i.e. not family-owned) dog, followed by own and unknown animals (Guy et al 2001c;Presutti 2001;Kahn et al 2003;Wilson et al 2003;Akhtar et al 2006;Kaye et al 2009). According to Bernardo et al (2002), children aged six years and less were more frequently bitten by the family dog than older children.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 61%

“…Despite efforts in many countries to prevent/control dog bites (Houpt et al 1996;Chapman et al 2000;AVMA 2001;Wilson et al 2003;Giusanni 2004;Jung 2004;Notari 2004;Osella et al 2004;Pilonell 2004;Tissen et al 2007), numbers of dog bite victims including the paediatric ones are rising (Sacks et al 1996a;Akhtar et al 2006;Langley 2009). Our study is therefore in line with calls for more information on dog bites (Mills and Levine 2006;De Keuster et al 2006) in order to obtain data from many countries and prepare more efficient preventive programmes to protect potential victims, especially children.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Up to 47% of dogs aged 1-2 years were reported by their owners to be sometimes aggressive to people, both family members and strangers (Baranyiová et al 2004). Most bite incidents occur in summer months and in the late afternoon hours when serotonin concentrations naturally decrease in the dog (Houpt 2005;Overall 1997;Akhtar et al 2006;Kaye et al 2009). …”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The younger the victim, the more frequently the wounds are in the head and face area; in children younger than 4 years about 80% (Matter 1998; Akhtar et al 2006;Wake et al 2006;Kaye et al 2009). In children up to 9 years of age, the risk of head, face and neck wounds is high (e.g.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Dog Bites to Children in the Czech Republic: the Risk Situations

2010

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The aim of this study was to analyse dog bites to children in the Czech Republic. Data were obtained from a questionnaire completed with children aged 4 to 13 years in 11 urban and rural primary schools. A total of 103 dog bites sustained by 92 children were analysed using chi square test and F test. There were 58 boys (56.3%) and 45 girls (43.7%) bitten, 57.3% of them once, 42.7% repeatedly. The evaluated answers showed that children were bitten when playing with own dogs (69.2%) or dogs known to them (30.8%) but not by unknown dogs (χ 2 = 25.397, df = 1, p < 0.001). Children were bitten outdoors by loose running unknown dogs (88.5%), known dogs (11.5%) but not by own dogs (χ 2 = 55.528, df = 2, p < 0.001). Thirty-two children were bitten indoors by small (53.1%), medium size (21.9) or large (25.0%) dogs. Small dogs were biting mostly indoors (51.5%), medium size (73.1%) and large (80.5%) dogs bit mostly outdoors (χ 2 = 9.0022, df = 2, p = 0.011). Most of the children that disturbed a resting or sleeping dog were bitten indoors (83.3%; χ 2 = 7.862, df = 1, p < 0.01), predominantly by small dogs (83.3%, χ 2 = 7.482, df = 2, p = 0.022). When stroking a dog, children were bitten by a medium size (45.5%), large (31.8%) or small dog (22.7%; χ 2 = 5.588, df = 2, p < 0.068). Children injured by their family-owned dog had accidentally caused pain to it before being bitten (83.3%; χ 2 = 7.862, df = 1, p < 0.012). These children were always bitten by a small dog (χ 2 = 7.482, df = 2, p = 0.022). Three children reported deliberately causing pain to a dog -these were all small dogs (100.0%; χ 2 = 6.279, df = 2, p < 0.05). Children teasing dogs were bitten most frequently by a small dog (75.0%; χ 2 = 6.98, df = 2, p < 0.032). Male dogs bit more frequently (66.7%) than females (33.3%; χ 2 = 6.338, d.f. =1, p = 0.014). These data were the first ones obtained from the bitten children. They suggest that in interactions with own, known and small dogs, children were more daring. The personal space of dogs, their warning signals, and defence were underestimated, the resulting aggression was mostly of possessive, territorial and fear type. Additional suggestions are made to complete the information on preventive measures for parents, children and the public. Importantly, all information types should point out that the dog remains a predator despite its long domestication history and close co-existence with humans.

show abstract