Barking mad? another lunatic hypothesis bites the dust.
OBJECTIVE
To assess whether dog bites requiring hospital admission occur more at the full moon.


METHODS
Review of dates of admission for dog bites to accident and emergency departments, June 1997 to June 1998, compared with dates of the full moon.


METHODS
All public hospitals in Australia.


METHODS
Admissions for dog bites.


RESULTS
12 peak clusters of admissions were unrelated to the time of the full moon.


CONCLUSIONS
Dog bites are no more frequent on full moons than at any other time of the month. Sceptics rejoice.
Chapman
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S
Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia. simonc@health.usyd.edu.au
Morrell
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D000818:Animals; D001733:Bites and Stings / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004285:Dogs; D004630:Emergencies; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016081:Moon; D014925:Wit and Humor as Topic