[Bite Wounds Should not be Irrigated by Syringe. An Anatomic Study]

In the literature about treatment of animal and human bite injuries, it is often recommended that bite wounds should be cleaned with a syringe and button cannula or plastic catheter. This is supposed to clean deeper wound sections and remove contamination and foreign bodies. Recent papers recommend cautious irrigation without high pressure.

In eight cadavers, artificial bite wounds were produced in typical locations. These wounds were irrigated by syringe and button cannula using diluted ink. The pressure of irrigation was limited to "no noticeable pressure".

In all cases, more than half of the irrigation volume remained inside the victim´s organism, following anatomic structures and spreading over large areas.

Irrigation fails to clean the wound but increases the risk of contaminating the surrounding structures. Hence, the authors recommend that bite wounds should not be irrigated by syringe and button cannula.