[Verification of antibiotic treatment after animal bites among patients at the antirabies center in Rome].

The study aimed at searching whether antibiotic prophylaxis was practised after animal bites, and, in this case, what were the criteria adopted. It was performed by considering 162 outpatients requiring assistance after animal bites at the Antirabies Centre of Rome, Italy. In this circumstances, prevention of bacterial and viral infections is performed by wound detersion, by administering anti-tetanus and anti-rabid prophylaxis where required by italian policy, according to the patient's history. Infectious complications are described in literature as a common consequence of animal bites and include cellulitis, septic arthritis, osteomyelitis and even fatal sepsis. Microorganisms related to these infections are frequently typical of animal oral flora and include aerobic and anaerobic species, such as Pasteurella multocida, DF-2, and Leptospira. It was noted that 58 (35.8%) out of 162 were treated with antibiotic prophylaxis; the most common drug used was amoxicillin, given in 18 cases (31%). The overall results do not show any particular reason for practising or not this prophylaxis. The need of standardising the behaviour of Emergency Services, where a different and unjustified attitude to treat or not patients with antibiotic prophylaxis in order to prevent infectious complications following animal bites was observed, emerges from this study.