Fight bite injury: emergency department assessment and management
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Fight bite injury: emergency department assessment and management

Barry McBrien Registered advanced nurse practitioner, Adelaide and Meath Hospital, Tallaght, Dublin

Human bite wounds to the hand are relatively common injuries and are associated with high infection rates. Given the unique anatomy of the hand, the bite mechanism and the organisms found in human saliva, even the smallest wound can result in an aggressive infection. Failure to recognise and treat human bite wounds appropriately, can therefore have negative outcomes for patients. This article outlines the diagnostic features of, and complications associated with, bite wounds and discusses the recommended treatment options.

Emergency Nurse. 24, 7, 34-37. doi: 10.7748/en.2016.e1611

Correspondence

bmcbrien73@hotmail.com

Peer review

This article has been subject to external double-blind peer review and checked for plagiarism using automated software

Conflict of interest

None declared

Received: 20 June 2016

Accepted: 08 August 2016

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