Current management of human bites.

Human bites should be considered dangerous injuries with potentially serious complications. Their characteristics vary from an uninfected abrasion to a serious infection such as cellulitis or osteomyelitis. An estimated 10% of the injuries become infected; suspected pathogens include oral and skin flora. Management consists of history and examination, wound care, surgical intervention if necessary, assessment of risk of disease transmission, and appropriate antibiotic prophylaxis or treatment. The best choice for oral or intravenous antibiotic therapy remains the combination of a beta-lactam antibiotic with a beta-lactamase inhibitor. Among the most serious human bites are clenched fist injuries, which often require surgical intervention and intravenous antibiotic therapy.

Open treatment of fingertip amputations.

Twenty-five patients with fingertip injuries at or distal to the distal interphalangeal joint were treated with a thorough cleansing of the wound with application of bacitracin and a sterile dressing. Warm soaks were begun 48 hours after injury. Crush injury was the most common type of trauma, followed by cutting injuries. Bone involvement was present in six cases. The average healing time was 29 days. At the time of complete healing, sensation was normal in 22 patients (88%). Systemic antibiotics were not administered routinely. No patient developed a wound infection. Our study documents that fingertip amputations can be successfully treated by nonoperative methods that result in preservation of finger length and contour, retention of sensation, and healing without infection.