Abstract
Pet cat bites are common—the most typical patient being a child, and the most typical locality hands and face. The normal flora of a pet cat’s mouth houses very potent pathogens. Therapeutic measures include wound cleansing, prophylaxis against tetanus and possibly rabies. Antibiotic prophylaxis should be administered in the cases of all but the mildest superficial wounds especially if the wound is in the hand or face. We present a review on the medical care of cat bite wounds and a typical case of a patient who developed rapid symptoms and signs of infection after a pet cat bite and nearly required hospitalization. The clinical picture was consistent with a Pasteurella infection.
Highlights
Up to 90% of animal bites are caused by dogs and cats [1]
We present a typical case of a patient who developed rapid symptoms and signs of infection after a pet cat bite and nearly required hospitalization
The fact that cat bite wounds get infected more frequently than do dog bite wounds is probably related to sharper teeth of cats leading to deeper inoculation of bacteria and subsequent soft tissue abscesses or septic arthritis [4] [5] [9]
Summary
Up to 90% of animal bites are caused by dogs and cats [1]. Not all patients seek medical attention up to 50% - 80% of cat bites can get infected [5]-[7]. We present a typical case of a patient who developed rapid symptoms and signs of infection after a pet cat bite and nearly required hospitalization. How to cite this paper: Oksi, J., et al (2014) Medical Care after Cat Bites: A Typical Case and Review. We gathered earlier and recently published literature for a review on cat bite wound infections. Therapeutic measures include wound cleansing, prophylaxis against tetanus and possibly rabies, and antibiotic prophylaxis especially in the case of cat bite wound in the hand or face. In cases that are not responding well to antibiotics surgical treatment should be considered
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