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Human bite wounds demand prompt treatment
Reuters Health, New York
The longer people take to seek treatment after suffering a bite wound from someone, the greater their risk the wound will become infected, according to a review of human bite injury cases treated at an Irish plastic surgery unit.Many victims also failed to get recommended follow-up treatment, Dr. Patricia A. Eadie and her colleagues from St. James Hospital in Dublin found, raising the risk of permanent scarring and functional damage. Guidelines recommend treating bite wounds like an infected surgical wound, by cleansing the area, removing infected tissue, and closing the wound as quickly as possible. To better understand the nature of these wounds and their management, the researchers reviewed the cases of all patients who had been referred to their plastic surgery unit for treatment of human bite injuries from 2003 to 2005. "Bite wounds present a challenge to any emergency department given the many issues involved in their management," the researchers conclude. Failing to deal with any of these issues "may result in a potentially devastating complication" involving function, infection or appearance. Source: Emergency Medicine Journal
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