Page 56 - Journal of Special Operations Medicine - Fall 2017

Bite Locations evacuations, antibiotic treatment, and sick days, whereas bar-
The human body diagram (Figure 3) demonstrates that no rier protection over hands and arms may reduce bite severity
part of the body surface is spared from dog bites; however, and rates of complications.
57% of bites by MWDs were confined to hands and arms,
compared with 20% to 34% of hand and arm bites by police Disclosures
dogs and domestic dogs. This can probably be explained by The authors have nothing to disclose.
5
different dog training techniques. Hutson et al. reported simi-
4
lar bite locations among police-dog victims, 57.2% of whom References
sustained multiple bites: 62.5% were injured in an upper ex- 1. Vogelsang R. Care of the military working dog by medical pro-
tremity, 62% in a lower extremity, 11.9% in the torso, 6.6% viders. J Spec Oper Med. 2007;7(2):33–47.
in the head and neck, 5.3% in the face, and 0.3% sustained 2. Giles Iii JT. Role of human health care providers and medical
injuries in the perineum. Distribution of domestic dog bites treatment facilities in military working dog care and accessibility
4
difficulties with military working dog blood products. U.S. Army
in children was different: 39% for lower leg injuries, 27.5% Med Dep J. 2016;(2-16):157–160.
on hands and forearms,, 19.3% on thigh and knee, 8.5% on 3. Taylor WM. Canine tactical field care. Part two—Massive hem-
head and neck, and 3% of injuries occurred in the upper arm orrhage control and physiologic stabilization of the volume de-
and shoulder. 13 pleted, shock-affected, or heatstroke-affected canine. J Spec Oper
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4. Hutson HR, Anglin D, Pineda GV, et al. Law enforcement K-9
Limitations dog bites: injuries, complications, and trends. Ann Emerg Med.
The study has several limitations. It is based on self-reported 1997;29(5):637–642.
questionnaires and thus may be prone to recall bias. Most par- 5. Meade PC. Police and domestic dog bite injuries: What are the
ticipants admitted to having many mild bites, the timing and differences? What are the implications about police dog use? Inj
circumstances of which they did not remember well. This, how- Extra. 2006;37(11):395–401.
ever, is more reliable than the official registries. For example, in 6. Hickey ER, Hoffman PB. To bite or not to bite: canine appre-
the community setting in United States, 20% of dog bites are hensions in a large, suburban police department. J Crim Justice.
2003;31(2):147–154.
treated in emergency departments, whereas 80% are treated 7. Guy NC, Luescher UA, Dohoo SE, et al. Risk factors for dog bites
nonmedically, and are not reported. Bidirectional selection to owners in a general veterinary caseload. Appl Anim Behav Sci.
14
bias could have taken place in our study: On the one hand, 2001;74(1):29–42.
most severe cases were not available for participation in the 8. Baker JL, Truesdale CA, Schlanser JR. Overview of combat trauma
study; on the other hand, among those soldiers who refused to in military working dogs in Iraq and Afghanistan. U.S. Army Med
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amount of exposure to bites may not be reliably represented force outcomes. Police Pract Res. 2006;7(4):323–335.
by the duration of experience of working with dogs. Patterns 11. Cornelissen JMR, Hopster H. Dog bites in The Netherlands: a
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of safety precautions could reduce bite rates, emergency room

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