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| |  Dog Bites Are Significant Source Of Injury In U.S. CHICAGO, IL -- January 6, 1998 -- Dogs bite more than four-million people in the U.S. each year -- more than 750,000 require medical treatment, according to an article in tomorrow’s issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association. Harold Weiss, M.S., M.P.H., and colleagues, formerly from the Center for Injury Research and Control, University of Pittsburgh, PA., describe the incidence and characteristics of dog-bite injuries treated in U.S. emergency departments (EDs). The authors are now with the Center for Violence and Injury Control, Allegheny University of the Health Sciences, Pittsburgh. Based on data from the National Center for Health Statistics National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey for 1992-1994 and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, they estimate that dog bites are annually responsible for: -- nearly 4.5 million injuries -- 20 deaths -- nearly 334,000 visits to hospital emergency departments -- more than 21,000 visits to medical offices and clinics -- more than 670 hospitalizations -- about 3.73 million non-medically treated injuries -- 914 new dog bite injuries requiring ED visits per day The researchers also determined: males were more likely than females to be bitten by dogs; children had the highest rate of ED visits for dog bite injuries; and young children were more likely than adults to be bitten in the head, neck and face area. The median age of patients bitten was 15 years, with children, especially boys aged five to nine years, having the highest incidence rate. The authors write that it has been estimated that almost half of all children have been bitten by a dog at some point in their lives. Concerning the economic impact of treating dog bite injuries, the authors estimate that the average dog bite results in a payment to the hospital of $274 and a national annual total payment for ED services for new dog bite-related injuries of $102.4 million. Children and adolescents younger than 20 years accounted for over half of these payments ($58.7 million), and Medicaid, Medicare, and other government sources were mentioned as payers in 26 percent of the visits. "Considering the risk to large parts of the population, especially to children, it is necessary that effective preventive strategies be developed and applied to reduce the painful and costly burden of dog bites,” the authors write. “We know little about which strategies work or do not work, however. More knowledge is needed through a combination of enhanced and coordinated dog bite reporting systems, expanded population-based surveys, and implementation and evaluation of preventive trials. "Particularly for the more severe episodes, information needs to be obtained regarding high-risk situations, high-risk dogs and what leads to successful preventive interventions."
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