TR
EN
Evaluation of wounds due to animals at an emergency department
Abstract
Aim: Due to the risk of rabies contamination and infection, wounds by animals are a significant public health concern. Rabies are still encountered in Turkey. The knowledge of the epidemiology and surveillance of animal bites and rabies prophylaxis is critical in combating this disease. This study aimed to determine the frequency and characteristics of wounds due to animals and rabies prophylaxis at the emergency department of Ege University Faculty of Medicine.
Materials and Methods: In this descriptive and retrospective study, the medical records of patients admitted to the Emergency Department of Ege University Faculty of Medicine between 01.03.2016 and 01.12.2018 with wounds due to animals were reviewed. Of the 427 cases reviewed, four cases (0.9%) due to rats and two patients (0.5%) wounded by bats were not included in the analysis.
Results: Of the 421 applicants, 266 were males (63.2%), and 155 were females (36.8%). Forty-five patients (10.6%) were aged ≤10 (10.6%). Adults aged 18-59 years constituted 78.8% (n=332) of the applications. Most commonly, the wounds were in the lower extremities (220, 53.3%). The attacks were made commonly by dogs (n=312, 74.1%). Immunoglobulins were administered to patients who had injuries extending to the subcutaneous tissues (n=23, 5.5%). The majority of the patients were wounded by stray animals (288, 68.4%). All these patients received the rabies vaccine. On the other hand, the majority of patients wounded by owned animals (n=69, 16.4%) got a rabies vaccine as well (n=59, 85.5%).
Conclusion: Our findings indicate that the most significant risks were due to stray animals. It can be concluded that controls and vaccination of owned animals are insufficient, requiring immunization after the injuries. Additionally, to reduce animal bites and prevent rabies, public education about animal bites will be useful as well.
Keywords
Kaynakça
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Ayrıntılar
Birincil Dil
İngilizce
Konular
Sağlık Kurumları Yönetimi
Bölüm
Araştırma Makalesi
Yayımlanma Tarihi
30 Haziran 2020
Gönderilme Tarihi
12 Haziran 2019
Kabul Tarihi
2 Şubat 2020
Yayımlandığı Sayı
Yıl 2020 Cilt: 59 Sayı: 2