RESEARCH ARTICLE
Mammalian Bite Injuries to the Hand and Their Management
Shilpa Jha 1, Wasim S Khan 2, Nashat A Siddiqui*, 1
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2014Volume: 8
Issue: Suppl 1
First Page: 194
Last Page: 198
Publisher ID: TOORTHJ-8-194
DOI: 10.2174/1874325001408010194
Article History:
Received Date: 25/2/2014Revision Received Date: 23/3/2014
Acceptance Date: 27/3/2014
Electronic publication date: 27 /6/2014
Collection year: 2014

open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/) which permits unrestrictive use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
Bite wounds are a common form of hand injury with the potential to lead to severe local and systemic sequelae and permanent functional impairment. Mammalian bite wounds may be caused by a variety of animal class and species; injuries resulting from dogs, cats and humans are the most widely discussed and reported in the literature. Bite wounds may be contaminated with aggressive pathogens and the anatomical vulnerability of structures within the hand means that without early recognition and treatment with irrigation and antibiotics, alongside a low index of suspicion for deep structural involvement requiring formal surgical exploration and washout, the consequences of such injuries can be disastrous. We review the literature and discuss the epidemiology, pathophysiology and microbiology relating to these injuries, as well as clinical aspects including signs, symptoms, and management.