%0 Journal Article
%T Animal and Human Bites: Prophlaxis and Approach to the Treatment
%A Ahmet KARAKA£¿
%A Handan £¿LHAN
%A Vedat TURHAN
%J Tš¹rk Hijyen ve Deneysel Biyoloji Dergisi
%D 2010
%I Refik Saydam H?fz?ss?hha Merkezi Ba?kanl???
%X Human and animal bites can cause complications ranging from slight injuries to serious infections. Infections can originate from the biter¡¯s oral cavity and victims¡¯s skin flora. Compared with animal bites, human bites have a higher risk of infection development. Most of the wound infections due to bites are caused by polymicrobials. Pasteurella species, streptococci, staphylococci, Moraxella, Corynebacterium, and Neisseria spp., Bergeyella zoohelcum and Capnocytophaga species are the most frequently isolated pathogens. Dogs (85-90 %), cats (5-10 %), humans (2-3 %) and rodents (2-3 %) are responsible for most of the bite injuries. Injuries due to dog bites occur mostly in men older than 20 years old and usually on the extremities. Cat bites and related injuries are found in 66 % on the upper extremities, typically on the hands. Bites of human origin are mostly occur in males between the ages of 20-30, and especially seen on the arms, fingers and head-neck regions. Most of the bites from rodents have a rat origin. Those bites often happen at night , especially on the face or hand of children under five years old who live in poor hygienic conditions. The dog bites are mostly due to the crush-style injuries and in 4-25 % of those injuries an infection develops in about 24 hours. Because of their sharp teeth, cats cause puncture-type wounds. Approximately 30-50 % of the cat bite wounds become infected 12 hours later. Hand, face and genital region wounds have a higher risk for the occurrence of an infection, because of their special anatomical structure. In case of risk factors such as diabetes mellitus, kidney failure, long term steroid use, splenectomy, extreme ages (children and elderly people) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), infection could easily spread to the deep tissues. The suturing of bite wounds remain controversial. Infected wounds and bites older than 24 hours could be left open. Cosmetically problematic wounds like on the face could be sutured. Amoxicillin clavulanic acid is the most preferred agent for the empirical antibiotic therapy. As a result, animal and human bites remain a major public health problem. These bites can cause serious infections and complications. Serious complications can be prevented by detailed assessment, proper cleansing of the wound on time and prophylactic approaches.
%K Human bites
%K animal bites
%K prophlaxy
%K tratment
%U http://www.turkhijyen.org/jvi.aspx?pdir=turkhijyen&plng=tur&un=THDBD-09609&look4=