Clinical analysis of rabies post-exposure prophylaxis for animal bite in emergency department

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: This study examined patients who visited the emergency department of a national medical center equipped with rabies vaccine and rabies immunoglobulin to confirm whether the treatment for rabies vaccination was appropriate in the emergency department. METHODS: This was a retrospective study that included 397 patients from January 1, 2014, to October 31, 2017. The patients finally diagnosed with animal bites according to the International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision code, at emergency department were collected. RESULTS: Most of the patients were 20–30 years old. Most of them were bitten by a dog, especially in the upper limb. Only 84% of patients who met the domestic rabies post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) criteria were vaccinated. Patients who did not meet the criteria, approximately 22.3%, were also vaccinated. Complications after vaccination included clinical symptoms, such as headache, numbness, mild itching, and heating sensation. CONCLUSION: Rabies is a disease that can be prevented through PEP. Rabies PEP is relatively expensive and difficult to vaccinate easily, so it is desirable to subdivide the existing domestic rabies PEP guidelines into reality. Emergency physicians should know the proper rabies vaccination criteria and vaccinate patients only if necessary. This will help reduce medical resources and the complications of rabies vaccinations.