Welcome back to Morning Report! Today’s edition is presented by Dr. Alsup!
Mammal bites
Cat bites
- Deep puncture wounds, difficult to irrigate
- 10-40% rate of infections
- Staph, step and pasteurella multocida
- P. multocida, a highly virulent, facultatively anaerobic, gram-negative rod found in the oral cavity or nasopharynx of 70 to 90% of healthy cats.
- Abx required—dicloxacilin, cephalexin,. Augmentin- recommended
- Clindamycin-resistant pasteurella is out there
Dog bites
- 4.5 million dog bites occur per year, affecting nearly 1.5% of the population, but only 20% (885,000) of victims seek medical attention. 1% of all ed visits
- crush injury often with avulsions
- Dog bites in patients who delay care by as little as 6 hours have an increased risk of becoming infected
- Aerobes
- Staphylococcus aureus, alpha-hemolytic and beta-hemolytic streptococci, Klebsiella, Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas, Enterobacteriaceae, Capnocytophaga canimorsus
- Anaerobic organisms
- Bacteroides, Fusobacterium, Peptostreptococcus, Porphyromonas, and Prevotella
- C. canimorsus is a fastidious gram-negative rod that can cause overwhelming sepsis. It is part of the normal oral flora of both dogs and cats. More than 100 cases reports
- Usually begins within 3 days of exposure (range 1-10 days).
- fever, chills, myalgias, and vomiting
- clinical picture on presentation is often that of sepsis, with hypotension, renal insufficiency, and disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC).
- Purpura, particularly on the face, and petechiae are frequent findings and may progress to symmetrical peripheral gangrene.
- Cutaneous gangrene at the site of the bite strongly suggests C. canimorsus.
- The mortality rate is 30%, with 70% of deaths occurring in immunocompromised patients.
- Rosen’s: “it may be logical to limit the use of abx to high risk wounds, such as hand injuries, deep puncture wounds, or wounds in older and immunocompromised pts”
Human bites
Hand bites (fight bites)
- Streptococcus and Staphylococcus species are common, but Eikenella corrodens and Bacteroides species are also typical pathogens. Because Eikenella is often resistant to clindamycin, first-generation cephalosporins, and erythromycin, patients with early infection are treated with amoxicillin with clavulanate.
Specifically ask about comorbidities with risk of poor wound healing (i.e. diabetes, peripheral vascular disease); use of immunosuppressive medications or steroids; history of splenectomy; chronic alcoholism, particularly with malnutrition; and parenteral recreational drug use.
SPECIES | SUTURING | PROPHYLACTIC ANTIBIOTICS |
Dog | All (except hands) | High-risk wounds only* (all hand wounds) |
Cat | Face only | All |
Human | Face (as needed) | Hand, especially CFI |
High-risk wounds: hand wounds, deep structure involvement (tendon, joint, bone), delayed presentation (>12 hours), contaminated wounds with foreign bodies or devitalized tissue, deep puncture wounds, high-risk patients.
FACTOR | HIGH RISK | LOW RISK | ||||||||
Species |
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Location of wound |
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Wound type |
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High-risk patients |
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CFI: closed-fist injury; HIV: human immunodeficiency virus.
CONCLUSIONS
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Reference:
Rosen’s: Chapter 61
The views expressed on this blog are the author's own and do not reflect the views of their employer. Please read our full disclaimer here. Any references to clinical cases refer to patients treated at a virtual hospital, Janus General Hospital.
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Jay Khadpe MD
Editor in Chief of "The Original Kings of County"
Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine
Assistant Residency Director
SUNY Downstate / Kings County Hospital
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