Table 1. Characteristics of dog-bite injuries by age group.
| Characteristics | Total | Age groups of years | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Infant (<1) | Toddler (1−3) | Preschooler (4−6) | Schooler (7−12) | Teenager (13−18) | Adult (> 18) | |||||||||
| N = 9,966 | N = 86 | N = 598 | N = 528 | N = 940 | N = 573 | N = 7,241 | ||||||||
| Age, median (IQR) | 32 | (16–51) | ||||||||||||
| Gender (male), No. (%) | 4,520 | (45.4) | 40 | (46.5) | 359 | (60.0) | 307 | (58.1) | 525 | (55.9) | 249 | (43.5) | 3,040 | (42.0) |
| Bite site, No. (%) | ||||||||||||||
| Head and Neck | 2,184 | (21.9) | 37 | (43.0) | 230 | (38.5) | 154 | (29.2) | 236 | (25.1) | 202 | (35.3) | 1,325 | (18.3) |
| Torso | 85 | (0.9) | 0 | (0.0) | 4 | (0.7) | 9 | (1.7) | 30 | (3.2) | 4 | (0.7) | 38 | (0.5) |
| Upper extremity | 3,314 | (33.3) | 23 | (26.7) | 205 | (34.3) | 143 | (27.1) | 220 | (23.4) | 155 | (27.1) | 2,568 | (35.5) |
| Lower extremity | 1,563 | (15.7) | 8 | (9.3) | 47 | (7.9) | 120 | (22.7) | 182 | (19.4) | 46 | (8.0) | 1,160 | (16.0) |
| Multiplea | 319 | (3.2) | 1 | (1.2) | 18 | (3.0) | 17 | (3.2) | 47 | (5.0) | 16 | (2.8) | 220 | (3.0) |
| Unknown | 2,501 | (25.1) | 17 | (19.8) | 94 | (15.7) | 85 | (16.1) | 225 | (23.9) | 150 | (26.2) | 1930 | (26.7) |
| Wound characteristics, No. (%) | ||||||||||||||
| Superficial | 1,736 | (17.4) | 26 | (30.2) | 119 | (19.9) | 131 | (24.8) | 214 | (22.8) | 111 | (19.4) | 1,135 | (15.7) |
| Open | 7,892 | (79.2) | 57 | (66.3) | 463 | (77.4) | 384 | (72.7) | 704 | (74.9) | 455 | (79.4) | 5,829 | (80.5) |
| Fracture | 72 | (0.7) | 0 | (0.0) | 0 | (0.0) | 1 | (0.2) | 6 | (0.6) | 1 | (0.2) | 64 | (0.9) |
| Amputation | 16 | (0.2) | 0 | (0.0) | 0 | (0.0) | 0 | (0.0) | 0 | (0.0) | 2 | (0.4) | 14 | (0.2) |
| Others / Unknown | 250 | (2.5) | 3 | (3.5) | 16 | (2.7) | 12 | (2.3) | 16 | (1.7) | 4 | (0.7) | 199 | (2.8) |
| ED disposition, No. (%) | ||||||||||||||
| Discharge | 9,587 | (96.2) | 86 | (100.0) | 576 | (96.3) | 511 | (96.8) | 908 | (96.6) | 557 | (97.2) | 6949 | (96.0) |
| Admission | 370 | (3.7) | 0 | (0.0) | 22 | (3.7) | 17 | (3.2) | 31 | (3.3) | 16 | (2.8) | 284 | (3.9) |
| Death | 1 | (0.0) | 0 | (0.0) | 0 | (0.0) | 0 | (0.0) | 0 | (0.0) | 0 | (0.0) | 1 | (0.0) |
| Unknown | 8 | (0.1) | 0 | (0.0) | 0 | (0.0) | 0 | (0.0) | 1 | (0.1) | 0 | (0.0) | 7 | (0.1) |
| Mortalityb, No. (%) | 3 | (0.0) | 0 | (0.0) | 0 | (0.0) | 0 | (0.0) | 0 | (0.0) | 0 | (0.0) | 3 | (0.0) |
| Hospital stay (days), median (IQR) | 8 | (5–15) | 6 | (4–9) | 7 | (5–10) | 7 | (6–10) | 6 | (4–10) | 9 | (6–16) | ||
| Surgery, No. (%) | 224 | (2.3) | 0 | (0.0) | 17 | (2.8) | 6 | (1.1) | 17 | (1.8) | 9 | (1.6) | 175 | (2.4) |
| Place (home/others), No. (%) | ||||||||||||||
| Home | 7,206 | (72.3) | 85 | (98.8) | 482 | (80.6) | 329 | (62.3) | 641 | (68.2) | 455 | (79.4) | 5,214 | (72.0) |
| Road | 908 | (9.1) | 0 | (0.0) | 26 | (4.4) | 47 | (8.9) | 81 | (8.6) | 49 | (8.6) | 705 | (9.7) |
| Commercial facilities | 610 | (6.1) | 0 | (0.0) | 33 | (5.5) | 55 | (10.4) | 59 | (6.3) | 21 | (3.7) | 442 | (6.1) |
| Countryside / Sea / River | 372 | (3.7) | 0 | (0.0) | 19 | (3.2) | 29 | (5.5) | 42 | (4.5) | 13 | (2.3) | 269 | (3.7) |
| Public cultural facilities | 261 | (2.6) | 0 | (0.0) | 18 | (3.0) | 31 | (5.9) | 46 | (4.9) | 12 | (2.1) | 154 | (2.1) |
| Others / Unknown | 609 | (6.1) | 1 | (1.2) | 20 | (3.3) | 37 | (7.0) | 71 | (7.6) | 23 | (4.0) | 457 | (6.3) |
| Place (indoor/outdoor), No. (%) | ||||||||||||||
| Indoor | 6,028 | (60.5) | 82 | (95.4) | 445 | (74.4) | 261 | (49.4) | 535 | (56.9) | 412 | (71.9) | 4,293 | (59.3) |
| Outdoor | 3,726 | (37.4) | 3 | (3.5) | 146 | (24.4) | 257 | (48.7) | 383 | (40.7) | 153 | (26.7) | 2,784 | (38.5) |
| Unknown | 212 | (2.1) | 1 | (1.2) | 7 | (1.2) | 10 | (1.9) | 22 | (2.3) | 8 | (1.4) | 164 | (2.3) |
| Photoperiod, No. (%) | ||||||||||||||
| Long day (April-September) | 5,544 | (55.6) | 34 | (39.5) | 323 | (54.0) | 305 | (57.8) | 544 | (57.9) | 259 | (45.2) | 4,079 | (56.3) |
| Short day (October-March) | 4,422 | (44.4) | 52 | (60.5) | 275 | (46.0) | 223 | (42.2) | 396 | (42.1) | 314 | (54.8) | 3,162 | (43.7) |
| Dog owners, No. (%) | ||||||||||||||
| Household | 3,144 | (31.6) | 48 | (55.8) | 253 | (42.3) | 112 | (21.2) | 244 | (26.0) | 212 | (37.0) | 2,275 | (31.4) |
| Relatives | 84 | (0.8) | 0 | (0.0) | 16 | (2.7) | 10 | (1.9) | 11 | (1.2) | 6 | (1.1) | 41 | (0.6) |
| Neighbor / Friend | 495 | (5.0) | 2 | (2.3) | 17 | (2.8) | 28 | (5.3) | 70 | (7.5) | 22 | (3.8) | 356 | (4.9) |
| Stranger | 851 | (8.5) | 1 | (1.2) | 34 | (5.7) | 63 | (11.9) | 102 | (10.9) | 31 | (5.4) | 620 | (8.6) |
| Unknown | 5,392 | (54.1) | 35 | (40.7) | 278 | (46.5) | 315 | (59.7) | 513 | (54.6) | 302 | (52.7) | 3,949 | (54.5) |
a Multiple wound was defined as a combination of one or more of the anatomic sites.
b Mortality was defined as death in the ED or during hospitalization.