Pattern and outcome of dog bite injuries among children in Ado-Ekiti, Southwest Nigeria

INTRODUCTION: Dog bites in humans are a major public health problem. Globally, millions of people are bitten by dogs but most of the fatal cases occur in children. There is paucity of data on dog bite related diseases among Nigerian children. Objectives: to determine the pattern of dog bite injuries and associated health problems among children seen at Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital. METHODS: This is a retrospective study on the clinical data of patients managed for dog bite related injuries between January 2010 and June 2014. RESULTS: In all, 84 cases of dog bite injuries were managed constituting 0.89% of the total consultations; six (7.1%) had rabies. Most of the victims were aged 6-12 years (60.7%) and majority (71.4%) was boys. Eighty two percent of the victims presented within 24hrs of the injury. Thirty-six (43%) had WHO grade 3 dog bite injury at presentation and the lower limb was the commonest (57.1%) bite site. Use of herbal preparation was the most common pre-hospital treatment 60%. Although 92.9% received anti-rabies vaccine, only 64.3% of them completed the vaccination schedule. The case fatality rate for dog bite was 7.14%. The six that died all presented late, had no post exposure prophylaxis and died within 24 hours of admission. CONCLUSION: There is need for public enlightenment on dangers associated with dog bites and also for the government to defray the high cost of post exposure prophylaxis treatment for children.