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The Impact of Weather on Pediatric Dog Bites
Sriram Ramgopal, Michael R. Bykowski, Ian Chow, Joseph E. Losee, Richard Saladino
University of Pittsburgh
2018-02-14
Presenter: Michael R. Bykowski
Affidavit:
The submitted work is the majority work performed by Michael Bykowski
Director Name: Vu Nguyen
Author Category: Resident Plastic Surgery
Presentation Category: Clinical
Abstract Category: Craniomaxillofacial
Objective: To investigate the relationship of weather events and the occurrence of pediatric dog bites.
Study Design: We reviewed the medical records of patients with dog bites who presented to an urban pediatric tertiary care hospital during a 4-year period. Local weather data were collected from the regional airport database. Weather conditions on days with dog bites were compared with conditions on days without bites (control group). Analyses for continuous variables were performed using t-tests. Analyses for binary variables were presented as rates of bites per weather event days.
Results: 595 patients (median age 6 years (range 0-18); 258 females (43.4%)) presented with bites during 487 days. The mean temperature on days with dog bites was significantly warmer compared to days without dog bites (13.4°C versus 10.3°C, p<0.001). There was no significant difference in the amount of precipitation on days with and without dog bites. The rate of dog bites on days with thunderstorms was 36 bites per 61 days (0.55 bites/day). The rate of bites on days with rain only (without thunderstorm) was 175 bites/509 rainy days (0.34 bites/day). The rate of bites on days with snowfall was 61 bites/227 snow days (0.27 bites/day). The rate of dog bites on days without thunderstorm, rain or snowfall was 325 bites/695 days (0.46 bites/day).
Conclusions. Dog bites occur more at warmer temperatures. The rate of dog bites on days with thunderstorms is higher than for days with rain, no weather events or snow, respectively.
