title: Retrospective review of dog bite injuries in children presenting to a South Australian tertiary children's hospital emergency department.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe the characteristics, circumstances and consequences of dog bite injuries in children in order to inform the discourse concerning preventative approaches.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective review of children presenting to the emergency department (ED) of the Women's and Children's Hospital (WCH) in South Australia between the years 2009 and 2011 was performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 277 children presented to the WCH with dog bite injuries between 2009 and 2011. Of those, 141(51.0%) were referred for admission. Injury rates were highest in those aged 0-4, declining thereafter with age. In the 0-4 year age group, 89.5% of children presented after being bitten by a familiar dog with 92.5% occurring at home. The head/neck region constituted the most common location for injuries. We found that 67.5% of dog bite injuries were provoked and occurred between the child and a familiar dog (78.0%). Dogs from the bull terrier group (20.0%) and Jack Russell Terriers (11.0%) were the two most documented breeds. Almost half of the children presenting during the specified timeframe required at least one operation under a general anaesthetic. Two children were referred to a psychologist for management of post-traumatic stress.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Dog bite injuries are common in children and often require admission for inpatient care. This presents as a significant public health burden. For this reason, prevention initiatives need to be implemented on an ongoing basis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatric Surgery, Women's and Children's Hospital, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Su C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Chiam
authors.forename: Nicholas S
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Solanki
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lodge
authors.forename: Malcolm
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Higgins
authors.forename: Anthony L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Sparnon
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D017677:Age Distribution; D000818:Animals; D001134:Arm Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology; D001733:Bites and Stings / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000628:therapy*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004285:Dogs; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D004638:Emergency Treatment / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005151:Facial Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006776:Hospitals, Pediatric; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D007869:Leg Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D011322:Primary Prevention / Q000379:methods*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D017678:Sex Distribution; D013021:South Australia; D062606:Tertiary Care Centers
keywords: children; community; dog bite; emergency medicine; general paediatrics