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DOI: 10.1055/s-0045-1809549
Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Dog Bite Injuries in a Private Hospital in Brazil: A Comparative Epidemiological Study
Article in several languages: português | EnglishFinancial Support
The authors declare that they received no funding for this study.
Clinical Trial
None.
Abstract
Introduction
Dog bites are a significant public health problem, often requiring emergency department (ED) visits. Patterns of injury vary by age, with children typically injured on the head and neck and adults, on the extremities. The COVID-19 pandemic altered human-dog interactions, with some studies reporting an increase in dog bite injuries (DBI). This study evaluated trends in DBI at a private hospital in São Paulo, Brazil, during the pandemic and analyzed the demand for plastic surgery consultations.
Method
A multicenter retrospective observational study analyzed cases coded W54 (ICD-10) across five emergency units of Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein from January 2019 to June 2021. Patients were categorized into pre-social isolation (Group 1) and post-social isolation (Group 2) periods. Variables included patient demographics, admission date, day of the week, visit time, and plastic surgery consultations. Statistical analyses were performed using R software.
Results
Among 1129 cases, 558 occurred in Group 1 and 571 in Group 2. Despite a significant reduction in overall ED visits, the relative frequency of DBI increased during the pandemic (p < 0.001). Plastic surgery consultations showed a modest rise but were not statistically significant (p = 0.0775). No significant differences were observed in patient age, sex, or visit time.
Conclusions
The pandemic influenced the relative frequency of DBI at this hospital, highlighting the need for preventive strategies and further research in diverse healthcare settings to better understand this issue.
Contribuição do Autor
TSO: data analysis and/or interpretation, statistical analysis, data collection, conceptualization, study conception and design, project management, investigation, methodology, writing-original draft preparation, writing-review and editing, supervision, validation, visualization; DCG: conceptualization, study conception and design, project management, writing-review and editing, supervision; GCF: statistical analysis, data collection, research, methodology, writing - original draft preparation, software, validation; JRP: conceptualization, study conception and design, supervision; JA: data analysis and/or interpretation, final approval of the manuscript, conceptualization, study conception and design, project management, investigation, methodology, writing - review and editing, supervision, visualization.
Publication History
Received: 07 January 2025
Accepted: 24 March 2025
Article published online:
20 June 2025
© 2025. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Thieme Revinter Publicações Ltda.
Rua Rego Freitas, 175, loja 1, República, São Paulo, SP, CEP 01220-010, Brazil
Tatiana Scarparo de Oliveira, Dov Charles Goldenberg, Gabriela de Carvalho Ferreira, José Roberto Precoppe, Jaime Anger. Impacto da pandemia de COVID-19 em lesões por mordedura de cães em um hospital privado no Brasil: Um estudo epidemiológico comparativo. Revista Brasileira de Cirurgia Plástica (RBCP) – Brazilian Journal of Plastic Surgery 2025; 40: s00451809549.
DOI: 10.1055/s-0045-1809549
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