Organ dysfunction and mortality risk factors in severe canine bite wound trauma | VETgirl Veterinary Continuing Education Podcasts

In today's VETgirl online veterinary continuing education podcast, we review organ dysfunction and mortality risk factors in dogs with severe bite wounds. How frequently do you see dogs with severe bite wounds requiring intensive care in your practice? While many of us see “routine” bite wounds that can be managed with wound care on an out-patient basis pretty frequently, there is another population of canine patients with bite wounds that are much more severely affected. These patients may have much more extensive wounds, and can develop complications such as SIRS, DIC, MODS and sepsis. Unfortunately, little evidence exists on which patients may develop these complications. So, Ateca et al from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine set out to retrospectively evaluate dogs with bite wounds requiring hospitalization in the ICU, to characterize their treatments, complications and outcomes, and to identify any risk factors for mortality.