Evaluating Dog Bite-Induced Facial Trauma: A Study From a Single Tertiary Care Center

Analyze demographic and clinical factors for patients presenting with dog bites to the face, head, or neck.

Retrospective cohort.

Single tertiary care, level 1 trauma center.

A retrospective chart review identified patients presenting for facial dog bite injuries from 2012 to 2023.

There were 906 patients with facial dog bites and 2061 injuries. Patients ranged from 0 to 91 years old with a median of 7 years, and 50.6% were female. The 2 most common causes for injury were playing with the dog (32.0%) or an unprovoked attack (17.3%). Family dogs were responsible for 61.3% of injuries. Pitbulls (22.4%), Labradors (10.5%), and German Shepherds (7.0%) were the most identified breeds. The cheeks (25.9%), lips (20.8%), and nose (9.0%) were most injured. Hospital admission was required in 17.0% of patients. Regarding management, 16.9% required operative repair, 65.9% were repaired at bedside, and 17.9% were managed conservatively. There were 878 patients prescribed intravenous or oral antibiotics (96.9%) with amoxicillin-clavulanate most frequently prescribed (62.7%). Of the 138 patients bit by dogs with outdated or unknown rabies vaccination status, 35.5% (n = 49) received a rabies vaccination, and 34.8% (n = 48) received rabies immunoglobulins. Of the 254 patients not current on tetanus vaccination, 78.7% (n = 200) received a booster.

Dog bites to the head and neck are common injuries, with many patients requiring hospital admission and/or repair. Understanding the demographics of these injuries is important to identify physical and socioeconomic burdens of disease, gaps in adherence to protocols/guidelines, and areas of targeted education/preventative interventions.