Table. Patient Demographics and Characteristics.
| Demographics and characteristics | Patients, No. (%) | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preimplementation group (n = 254) | Postimplementation group (n = 70) | ||
| Age, mean (SD), y | 39 (21) | 38 (19) | .62 |
| Sex | |||
| Women | 135 (53) | 33 (47) | .37 |
| Men | 119 (47) | 37 (53) | |
| Dosing weight, mean (SD), kga | 73 (26) | 71 (28) | .51 |
| Immunocompromised statusb | 7 (3) | 1 (1) | >.99 |
| History of rabies prophylaxisc | 2 (1) | 3 (4) | .07 |
| ED setting | |||
| Community hospital | 183 (72) | 48 (69) | .30 |
| Academic medical center | 54 (21) | 20 (29) | .30 |
| Freestanding ED | 17 (7) | 2 (3) | .30 |
| Hospital admission | 16 (6) | 2 (3) | .38 |
| Animal type | |||
| Bat | 63 (25) | 37 (53) | <.001 |
| Dogd | 121 (48) | 17 (24) | |
| Cate | 36 (14) | 8 (11) | |
| Raccoons | 16 (6) | 7 (10) | |
| Otherf | 18 (7) | 1 (1) | |
| Animal exposure type | |||
| Bite | 193 (76) | 40 (57) | .005 |
| Close encounter | 25 (10) | 19 (27) | |
| Direct contact | 16 (6) | 7 (10) | |
| Bite and scratch | 10 (4) | 2 (3) | |
| Scratch | 6 (2) | 2 (3) | |
| Lick | 4 (2) | 0 | |
| Wound location | |||
| Head/face/neck | 14 (6) | 2 (3) | .02 |
| Torso/buttock | 4 (2) | 1 (1) | |
| Arm/hand | 109 (43) | 20 (29) | |
| Leg/foot | 63 (25) | 15 (21) | |
| Multiple locations | 20 (8) | 5 (7) | |
| Wound location was not documented | 3 (1) | 1 (1) | |
| No wound | 41 (16) | 26 (37) | |
| Days from animal exposure to rabies PEPg | |||
| Same day | 140 (55) | 31 (44) | .15 |
| 1 d After exposure | 46 (18) | 21 (30) | |
| 2 d After exposure | 15 (6) | 5 (7) | |
| 3 d After exposure | 19 (7) | 3 (4) | |
| ≥4 d After exposure | 27 (11) | 10 (14) | |
| Date of exposure was not documented | 7 (3) | 0 | |
Abbreviations: ED, emergency department; PEP, postexposure prophylaxis.
Weight was missing for 4 preimplementation patients.
Patients on immunosuppressive agents or had active immunosuppressive disorders.
Patients had history of rabies vaccines and/or human rabies immune globulin (HRIG) administration prior to the animal exposure for the index ED visit.
The domestication status of the dogs was stray (58 patients preimplementation and 9 postimplementation), domestic (35 preimplementation and 7 postimplementation), or unknown (28 preimplementation and 1 postimplementation).
The domestication status of the cats was stray (29 patients preimplementation and 8 postimplementation), domestic (3 preimplementation), or unknown (4 preimplementation).
Other animal types include rodent (3 patients), squirrel (3 patients), monkey (3 patients), direct contact with a domestic dog that was exposed to a suspected/confirmed rabid bat (3 patients), calf (2 patients), otter (1 patient), health care worker exposure to blood of a patient who was initiating rabies PEP (1 patient), coyote (1 patient), and skunk (1 patient) in the preimplementation group and rodent (1 patient) in the postimplementation group.
Rabies PEP was defined as rabies HRIG or vaccine.