Doha, Qatar: A relatively low number of patients are reported to the emergency departments of public hospitals in Qatar due to an injury caused by a pet or domestic exotic animal.
A seven-year-long study on ‘Injuries related to pets, exotic animals, and falconry in Qatar’ has found that the reported injuries were minor skin abrasions and superficial injuries, mainly to the hands. They were often caused by cats and involved children and young adults.
Pets and exotic animals are increasingly popular all over the world. Some of these animals may cause injuries to their owners or other people during interactions. Injuries and systemic infections are always present diagnosis and treatment challenges.
According to the study published in the December 2023 issue of the Qatar Medical Journal, 74.4% of the injuries caused by a pet or domestic exotic animal and treated at Emergency Department of hospitals across Hamad Medical Corporation’s (HMC), were skin abrasions.
Patients were reported with injuries commonly on hands, legs, and face. Majority 53.5% of the injuries were caused by cats, 16.3% by dogs and 11.6% caused by falcons. All patients were prescribed prophylactic antibiotics, and 60.5% were administered a tetanus injection.
The study has analysed HMC’s hospital records of patients treated between 2015 and 2022. Within the time of the study only 43 patients were reported to the Ambulance Service and emergency departments of the HMC hospitals due to injuries caused by animals kept as pets. Patients were evaluated in terms of demographic characteristics, type of injury, injury locations, injury severity, treatments applied, and complications.
The study also highlights that, while lacking specific data on the pet population in Qatar; cats are commonly reported as the most kept pets, aligning with our findings of them causing 53.5% of reported injuries. The data indicates that children and young adults face the highest risk of pet-related injuries. The study recommends that it is crucial to highlight the importance of children interacting with animals under adult supervision and with the presence of pet owners, as suggested in prior studies.
The study suggested, “Despite our study spanning over seven years, a relatively low number of patients reported to the government hospitals´ emergency departments. The injuries are most commonly caused by cats and often involve children and animal bites to hands. The key recommendations are for parents or caregivers to always supervise children when interacting with animals, be particularly cautious, and wear some form of protection when handling pets and domestic, exotic animals.
“Whether it is a bite or a scratch, healthcare professional should always anticipate the potential risk of infection, treat the patient accordingly, and prescribe prophylactic antibiotics,” it added.
