• Patrick Ky Goon, Matti Mahmoud, and Vaikunthan Rajaratnam.
• Department of Plastic Surgery, Selly Oak, University Birmingham Hospital, Birmingham, UK. pat28g@yahoo.co.uk.
• Eur J Trauma Emerg S. 2008 Apr 1;34(2):135-40.

AbstractClench fist or fight bite injuries are associated with some of the worst types of infective complications but their mechanism is often poorly understood. In a retrospective case series, 34 patients seen between 1998 and 2004 presented to a local hand surgery unit with confirmed human bite hand injuries. Seventy-six percent presented with infective complications with a mean delay in presentation of 4 days. Eighty percent of patients were clench fist injuries (CFI) (open joints in 59% and tendon injuries in 63%). Using an aggressive treatment policy including early surgical and antibiotic intervention, most patients achieved good results functionally (full range of movement was achieved in 83% of those with CFI which completed follow-up (44%)). High rates of non-compliance and incomplete follow-up was noted. Major long-term complications including limited range of movement and osteomyelitis was low and suggests the policy of prompt and comprehensive surgical and medical intervention is the optimal treatment option. A brief but in-depth discussion of the specific anatomical pitfalls is included.

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