Dog bites – barking up the right treatment tree
Keywords:
dog bite, dog bite complications, rabies, wound management, post-exposure prophylaxis, rabies immunoglobulin
Abstract
Injuries from dog bites vary in severity and complexity, ranging from puncture wounds from the dog’s teeth to lacerations an tissue removal from ripping and skin tearing. As dog bites are trauma wounds, they are most likely to be encountered by general practitioners in emergency centres. Therefore, proper assessment and management of these wounds requires knowledge of the treatment guidelines recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD). In this article, we discuss the consequences of dog bites, highlight the recommended treatment guidelines and present a case study of typical dog bite treatment.
