Orofacial Human Bite: A Six Year Review of Cases from Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital

Background: The orofacial region of the human body is usually not protected during a fight, making it prone to several injuries including human bite. Patients with human bite injury are often either intoxicated or are known to their assailant, and this makes the process of obtaining a reliable history especially about the aetiology difficult. In 2002, a study estimated the rate of infection secondary to human bite to be about 10%. Aim/Objective: The aim of the current study was to have a general overview of orofacial human bites seen at our unit including the aetiology, presentations, anatomic location, treatment and the treatment outcome. Results: Total number of cases was 127 over the six year period. Age range for females was 15 - 61 years with an average of 29.9. Age range for males was from 17 to 60 years and an average of 30.2 years. There were 31 males and 96 females, giving a male to female ratio of approximately 1:3. All of the reported cases resulted from a fight. Most of the offenders are known to the patients. Majority of the cases, except those infected at the time of presentation, were treated on the same day of presentation under local anaesthesia. Relationship of victim to the offender: Spouse/sexual partners were 21, rivals formed 70, known persons to the victim were 26 and strangers were 10. Sex distribution of offenders and victims: Females who bit females were 86 followed by females who bit males (24), males who bit females (10) and males who bit males (7). Conclusion: Most of the offenders are known to the patients. Majority of the cases, except those infected at the time of presentation, were treated on the same day of presentation under local anaesthesia after they had received antibiotics and anti-tetanus prophy-laxis. Early repair is now the recommended mode of treatment for human bites of the orofacial region, accompanied with good oral hygiene instructions and broad spectrum antibiotics and metro-nidazole.