Emergency treatment on facial laceration of dog bite wounds with immediate primary closure: a prospective randomized trial study

BACKGROUND: To investigate the emergency treatment on facial laceration of dog bite wounds and identify whether immediate primary closure is feasible. METHODS: Six hundred cases with facial laceration attacked by dog were divided into two groups randomly and evenly. After thorough debridement, the facial lacerations of group A were left open, while the lacerations of group B were undertaken immediate primary closure. Antibiotics use was administrated only after wound infected, not prophylactically given. The infection rate, infection time and healing time were analyzed. RESULTS: The infection rate of group A and B was 8.3% and 6.3% respectively (P>0.05); the infection time was 26.3±11.6h and 24.9±13.8h respectively (P>0.05), the healing time was 9.12±1.30d and 6.57±0.49d respectively (P<0.05) in taintless cases, 14.24±2.63d and 10.65±1.69d respectively (P<0.05) in infected cases. Compared with group A, there was no evident tendency in increasing infection rate (8.3% in group A and 6.3% in group B respectively) and infection period (26.3±11.6h in group A and 24.9±13.8h in group B respectively) in group B. Meanwhile, in group B, the wound healing time was shorter than group A statistically in both taintless cases (9.12±1.30d in group A and 6.57±0.49d in group B respectively) and infected cases (14.24±2.63d in group A and 10.65±1.69d in group B respectively). CONCLUSION: The facial laceration of dog bite wounds should be primary closed immediately after formal and thoroughly debridement. And the primary closure would shorten the healing time of the dog bite wounds without increasing the rate and period of infection. There is no potentiality of increasing infection incidence and infection speed, compared immediate primary closure with the wounds left open. On the contrary, primary closure the wounds can promote its primary healing. Prophylactic antibiotics administration was not recommended. and the important facial organ or tissue injuries should be secondary reconditioned.