• Jeannette W C Ting, Brian Yin Ting Yue, Howard Ho Fung Tang, Alexandra Rizzitelli, Ramin Shayan, Frank Raiola, Warren M Rozen, and David Hunter-Smith.
• Monash University, Melbourne, VIC jeannette.ting@gmail.com.
• Med. J. Aust. 2016 Feb 15; 204 (3): 114.e1-7.

ObjectivesThe incidence of animal bite injuries in Australia is high. There is currently no established method for reliably predicting whether a patient with a bite injury will require admission to hospital or surgery.DesignA retrospective audit of mammalian bite injuries at seven major hospitals in Melbourne, Victoria, over a 2-year period. The associations between each predictor and outcome of interest were analysed with univariate and multiple regression analyses.SettingSeven major hospitals in Melbourne, Victoria: the Alfred Hospital, Austin Hospital, Frankston Hospital, Monash Medical Centre, Royal Melbourne Hospital, St Vincent's Hospital and Western Hospital.ParticipantsPatients presenting to emergency departments with mammalian bite injuries.Main Outcome MeasuresHospital admission, intravenous antibiotic therapy, surgery, reoperation, readmission.ResultsWe identified 717 mammalian bite injuries. The mean age of the patients was 36.5 years (median, 34 years; range, 0-88 years), with an equal number of males and females. The overall rate of hospital admission was 50.8%, and the mean length of stay was 2.7 days. Intravenous antibiotics were administered in 46% of cases; surgery was undertaken in 43.1% of cases. The re-operation rate was 4.5%, the re-admission rate was 3%.ConclusionsOur study provides a detailed epidemiological analysis of animal bite injuries at seven major hospitals in Victoria. Risk factors for hospitalisation and surgery may assist in identifying patients who require admission and surgical intervention.

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