[Bite wounds and their characteristic position in trauma surgery management]

Abstract

Bite wounds have a special position in traumatology because of their high complication rate compared to similar soft tissue wounds caused by other reasons. The authors report in a retrospective study about the results of 525 patients with bite wounds. In 98 (18.7%) cases the wounds were sutured primarily after surgical revision when there was no sign of infection. Antibiotic therapy (a combination of amoxicillin and clavulan acid) was given to 109 patients (20.8%) who had infected wounds or who were at greater risk for infection (e.g., extremely large wounds, large hematoma). Antibiograms were only made when the wounds had already been infected. The total infection rate came to 11.8%, with 5.2% infected facial bites, 11.3% lower extremity, 18.6% upper extremity and 18.8% hand bite wounds. The infection rate after primary suture was 10.2% (3.2% at the face, 18.8% at the upper extremity and 25% each in the hand and the lower extremity). The average time period from the trauma to the first medical treatment amounted to 11 h in the infected wounds and 2 h in the non-infected ones. Cat bites became infected in 37.5%, dog bites in 14.9%.