Abstract

Background: Children are more prone to dog bites and they are more likely to be injured by dog bites than adult. Although most of the bites are by pet animal and provoked, they may be more severe. The present study was conducted in tertiary care center to study the profile and pattern of dog bites cases in children.Objectives: The objective of this study was to study the profile of animal bites cases and observe different practice of wound washing after bite.
Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted among <15-year-old children attending ARV clinic in a tertiary care center from July 2016 to December 2016. After receiving verbal informed consent, a pre-designed and pre-tested questionnaire was used to collect the data from children or their parents.
Results: Higher proportion of animal bite cases (38.9%) was seen in 5–10 years of age group among all the children with male predominance (73%). The most common site for bite was lower limb, i.e., 49.3%. Among all the children, 44.7% of children did not wash the wound after bite. Among all the category-III animal bite patients, 84.3% received inj. anti-rabies serum.Conclusion: Dog bites are more in male children; information, education, and communication activities regarding prevention of rabies are necessary.