• Brittney M Williams, Laura Purcell, Linda Kayange, Jared Gallaher, and Anthony Charles.
• Department of Surgery, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, USA.
• Injury. 2021 Aug 1; 52 (8): 218821932188-2193.

IntroductionBites are an important contributor to traumatic injury worldwide. In low- and middle-income countries, data regarding bite injuries outside of rabies is limited. Therefore, we sought to describe the injury characteristics and outcomes of bites in Lilongwe, Malawi, and determine risk factors for animals and human bites.MethodsWe performed a retrospective analysis of the Kamuzu Central Hospital trauma registry from 2008-2018. We performed Bivariate analyses comparing bite to non-bite trauma and human to animal bites. Multivariable Poisson regression modeling then estimated risk factors for bites.ResultsA total of 124,394 patients were captured by the registry, of which 3,680 (3%) had a bite injury mechanism. Human bites accounted for 14.5% of bite injuries, and animals represented the remaining 85.5%. In rare cases, animal bite victims had serious complications, such as amputation (n = 6, 0.2%), orthopedic procedures (n = 5, 0.2%), and death (n = 7, 0.2%). Risk factors for an animal bite included being on a farm, field, or lake and being at home, whereas risk factors for a human bite included alcohol use and being at home.ConclusionAnimal bite injuries in Malawi can confer a risk of serious complications, such as amputation and, in rare cases, death. Alcohol-associated, in-home interpersonal violence is a significant risk factor for human bite injuries. Further studies are needed to identify risk factors for complications and mortality.Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

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