Epidemiology of dog bites to people in Uruguay (2010-2020)

Epidemiology and management of dog bite injuries to the hand and upper limb

BACKGROUND

Dog bites to the hand and upper limb are common and carry a high-risk of severe injury and infection. However, epidemiological data, particularly comparing adult and pediatric populations, is limited. The study aims to describe patient demographics, injury severity, and the medical or surgical treatment provided. While comparing these results between adult and pediatric populations.

METHODS

This retrospective study recorded all the dog bites affecting the hand and upper limb over a 11-year period (2013-2023) in a single hospital using a Health Data Warehouse called 'Entrepôt de Données de Santé Normand' (EDSaN). Cases were identified using ICD-W54.0XXA codes, and cross-referenced with unstructured data via keyword-based queries. Patients were categorized as pediatric (<18years) or adult (≥18years) subgroups. Bite severity (fracture, tendon injury, nerve injury and infection), antibiotic prescriptions, and care pathway were assessed. Statistical analysis included Chi2 and Student's t-tests with an alpha risk of 0.05.

RESULTS

Among 5081 bites, 1444 (28.4%), involved pediatric patients and 3637 (71.6%) involved adults. Adults had significantly higher rates of severe injuries, including fractures (15.9% vs. 8.8%, P<0.01), nerve injuries (8.9% vs. 3.0%, P<0.01), tendon injuries (2.6% vs. 0.6%, P<0.01), and infections (16.2% vs. 12.8%, P<0.01). Adults had lower rates of antibiotics prescriptions (62.6% vs. 66.3% P<0.05). Surgical procedures were performed in 9.4% of cases with no statistical difference between groups.

CONCLUSION

Dog bites are a common reason for emergency department visits. This large-scale epidemiological study highlights a low rate of surgical procedures, insufficient antibiotics prescription, and statistical differences in bites severity between adults and children. The low rate of surgical interventions may indicate barriers to operating room access.

Epidemiology of cat bites to people in Uruguay: Effects of the age and sex of the victim, season of the year, and the COVID-19 pandemic

Background

Cat bites to people are an important public health problem. However, very little information exists on the epidemiology of people bitten by cats at the level of an entire country in Latin America. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic significantly influenced people's lives and their relationships with pets, which could potentially affect the frequency of people bitten by cats.

Aim

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of people bitten by cats in Uruguay (2010 to 2020) according to the sex and age of the victim, season of the year, and to compare the prevalence in the pandemic year (2020) with that of the pre-pandemic years (2010-2019).

Methods

Cross-sectional study. Cat-bite notifications for the 2010-2020 period were analyzed using data from the Uruguayan Ministry of Public Health (Uruguay).

Results

The annual cat-bite rate for the 2010-2020 period was 2.1 per 100,000 people. The frequency of cat bites varied with the victim´s sex (p < 0.0001), being greater in females (n = 506, 66.5%) than in males (n = 255, 33.5%). The age at being bitten by cats varied with the sex of the victim, with males being bitten at an earlier age than females (p < 0.0001). Among the age categories of 30-74 years, females were bitten more than males (p < 0.05). Overall, cat bites were much less frequent in the oldest age categories (over 75 years old, p < 0.05). The percentage of cat bites tended to change with the season of the year (p = 0.08), with most bites occurring in spring and summer. The frequency of cat-bite injuries was similar between 2020 and the pre-COVID-19 pandemic years.

Conclusion

In Uruguay, cat bite incidents were affected by the victim's sex (more in females) and age, as well as by the season. During the initial year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the rate of cat bites was no different from those in earlier years.

Time-series analysis of meteorological factors and emergency department visits due to dog/cat bites in Jinshan area, China

Background

Meteorological factors play an important role in human health. Clarifying the occurrence of dog and cat bites (DCBs) under different meteorological conditions can provide key insights into the prevention of DCBs. Therefore, the objective of the study was to explore the relationship between meteorological factors and DCBs and to provide caution to avoid the incidents that may occur by DCBs.

Methods

In this study, data on meteorological factors and cases of DCBs were retrospectively collected at the Shanghai Climate Center and Jinshan Hospital of Fudan University, respectively, in 2016-2020. The distributed lag non-linear and time series model (DLNM) were used to examine the effect of meteorological elements on daily hospital visits due to DCBs.

Results

A total of 26,857 DCBs were collected ranging from 1 to 39 cases per day. The relationship between ambient temperature and DCBs was J-shaped. DCBs were positively correlated with daily mean temperature (rs = 0.588, P < 0.01). The relative risk (RR) of DCBs was associated with high temperature (RR = 1.450; 95% CI [1.220-1.722]). Female was more susceptible to high temperature than male. High temperature increased the risk of DCBs.

Conclusions

The extremely high temperature increased the risk of injuries caused by DCBs, particularly for females. These data may help to develop public health strategies for potentially avoiding the occurrence of DCBs.