Abstract
While report of animal bites contaminating wounds is reported commonly, direct wound contamination with squirrel flesh has never been reported in the literature. The patient suffered an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound that drove squirrel flesh and buck shot deep within his right buttock. This case outlines his hospital course and wound treatment. The patient was treated with ten days of broad spectrum antibiotics, extensive debridement of the wound in the operating room, and further treatment of the wound with a vacuum dressing system. While squirrel tissue and buckshot had to be removed from the wound on day six of the hospital stay, the patient remained afebrile without signs or symptoms of systemic illness.
Highlights
Penetrating injuries account for up to twenty percent of all pediatric trauma admissions, and gunshots are the most common mechanism of injury in these patients [1]
While penetrating trauma is less common than blunt trauma in the pediatric population, it still accounts for 10–20% of all pediatric trauma admissions [1]
While typically considered to be a low or medium velocity weapon, can cause massive tissue damage dependent on the range and weight of shot [4]. These injuries often require aggressive debridement, with removal of wound margins and careful inspection for foreign material carried by the shot, including clothing and shotgun wadding [5]
Summary
Penetrating injuries account for up to twenty percent of all pediatric trauma admissions, and gunshots are the most common mechanism of injury in these patients [1]. Civilian gunshot wounds are not at high risk for infection, regardless of the projectile’s passage through clothing. The inclusion of animal tissue inside of the wound itself is a unique consideration. Animal inflicted wounds, such as bites and abrasions, are a common occurrence, with an annual incidence of 1-2 million, and carry a risk for zoonotic infections [2]. Squirrels, as part of the rodent family, carry the potential to harbor a high number of pathogens capable of infecting a human. While most infections from rodents occur via either direct contact (i.e., a bite) or due to indirect contamination (via an arthropod vector), gross contamination of an open wound with squirrel flesh is an unreported event [3]
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