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Best practice
Fifteen-minute consultation: Management of mammalian bites in children—from local wound care to prophylactic antibiotics
  1. Anais Lucile Schneider1,
  2. Céline Ritter Schenk1,
  3. Petra Zimmermann1,2,3,4
  1. 1 Department of Paediatrics, Fribourg Hospital, Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
  2. 2 Department of Community Health, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
  3. 3 Infectious Diseases Research Group, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
  4. 4 Department of Paediatrics, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
  1. Correspondence to Petra Zimmermann; petra.zimmermann{at}unifr.ch

Abstract

Animal and human bites are a common reason for emergency consultation, especially in children. The most common complication of bite wounds is local infection. Systemic infections are much rarer. The key in reducing the risk of infection after a mammalian bite is local wound management with either primary or delayed closure. The benefit of administering prophylactic antibiotics is controversial.

In this review, we provide a summary of the current evidence for the management of mammalian bites in children, including recommendations for appropriate investigations, wound management, administration of prophylactic and therapeutic antibiotics and the prevention of systemic infections.

  • Emergency Care
  • Infectious Disease Medicine
  • Paediatric Emergency Medicine
  • Paediatrics

https://doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2023-326403

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    Footnotes

    • Correction notice This paper has been corrected since it was first published. There were some formatting issues with the tables and these have now been resolved.

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer-reviewed.