Dog bite injuries are an increasingly common occurrence. They are more frequent in young children, with increased risk of resulting in serious injury or possible death. The location of the injury is largely dependent on age, as the head, face and neck are the most common in smaller children. These injuries do not affect the child only physically, but also represent with a significant emotional and psychological trauma.
Materials and methods
For a five-years period, from 2017 to 2024, we have observed dog bite wounds in 17 children with different severity that have been treated in the Department of Pediatric Surgery – UMHAT “St. George” – Plovdiv, Bulgaria. The majority of cases were with head localization, followed by upper limb. Multiple wounds localization was observed in two of the cases. Two of the patients suffered severe life-threatening trauma - thoracocentesis and laparotomy were performed in one of the patients due to abdominal and thoracic penetrating wounds, while the other one had been scalped. All of the cases underwent debridement with drainage, and had antibiotic treatment.
Results
The average hospital stay for dog bite wounds was around 7 days. The dressings were changed daily, while the antibiotic treatment duration was 5-10 days, depending on the severity of the trauma.
Conclusion
The child age as well as breed and size of the dog are main factors for the severity of the trauma. The proportions of the pediatric patient and the inability for self-defense determines the prevailing head and neck localization of the bites and the higher mortality rate among children.
With prompt and adequate treatment, the number of complications could be reduced to a minimum, as well as shortening the length of average hospital stay.
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