Animal bites in Spain. Pediatric guideline for Primary Care

Authors:

Piñeiro Pérez R^a, Carabaño Aguado I^b

^aServicio de Pediatría. Hospital General de Villalba. Collado Villalba, Madrid. España.
^bSección de Gastroenterología, Hepatología y Nutrición Pediátrica. Servicio de Pediatría. Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre. Madrid. España.

Correspondence: R Piñeiro. Email: roi.pineiro@quironsalud.es

Reference of this article.:

Piñeiro Pérez R, Carabaño Aguado I. Manejo práctico de mordeduras en Atención Primaria y en nuestro medio. Rev Pediatr Aten Primaria. 2015;17:263-70.

Published in Internet: 25/08/2015

Abstract:

It is estimated that animal bites account for about 1% of pediatric emergency department visits. The popular fear, especially the dreaded rabies, coupled with the presence of a large wound, usually causes fear in parents. However, when the bite comes from a snake, it is not uncommon that parents feel relaxed, whereas the one who is concerned is the pediatrician. A review of the subject is presented with the aim of recommending a general attitude to treat animal bites in children. Several comments about some particular cases are also described, such as snake bites, always considering the real possibilities in the Spanish territory, regardless tropical or exotic animals. The risk of rabies transmission in our country is also covered in this document.

Keywords: Children. Snake bites. Human bites. Animal bites.