Bear attack pattern and behavior in the Himalayan region: A study from a tertiary care center.
Bear attack
Facial injuries
Facial reconstruction
Maxillofacial injury
Journal
Injury
ISSN: 1879-0267
Titre abrégé: Injury
Pays: Netherlands
ID NLM: 0226040
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
Sep 2020
Sep 2020
Historique:
received:
13
04
2020
revised:
15
06
2020
accepted:
19
06
2020
pubmed:
28
6
2020
medline:
20
5
2021
entrez:
28
6
2020
Statut:
ppublish
Résumé
Reports of injuries caused by bear attacks are scarce in the Himalayan region of India, such as Uttarakhand, which is surrounded by hills and thick forests. We retrospectively studied 18 patients attacked by Himalayan black and sloth bears to understand the pattern of the attacks and their management. Patients attacked by bears between January 2018 to December 2019 were retrospectively studied. Most of the patients were of low socioeconomic status. The incidence was highest between June and December. The attacks mostly caused soft tissue injuries. There were also fractures of facial bones noted in some cases, but there was no mortality. The best outcomes were found in those cases that were managed with generous tissue preservation, rather than aggressive debridement. We could also follow the bear attack pattern. Himalayan black bears and sloth bears were found to be involved in the attacks. Injuries due to bear attacks mainly affect the face and neck. Although there were no cases of mortality in this study, facial disfigurement had a long-lasting impact on survivors. Tissue preservation and early reconstruction had the best outcomes.
Sections du résumé
BACKGROUND
BACKGROUND
Reports of injuries caused by bear attacks are scarce in the Himalayan region of India, such as Uttarakhand, which is surrounded by hills and thick forests. We retrospectively studied 18 patients attacked by Himalayan black and sloth bears to understand the pattern of the attacks and their management.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
METHODS
Patients attacked by bears between January 2018 to December 2019 were retrospectively studied.
RESULTS
RESULTS
Most of the patients were of low socioeconomic status. The incidence was highest between June and December. The attacks mostly caused soft tissue injuries. There were also fractures of facial bones noted in some cases, but there was no mortality. The best outcomes were found in those cases that were managed with generous tissue preservation, rather than aggressive debridement. We could also follow the bear attack pattern. Himalayan black bears and sloth bears were found to be involved in the attacks.
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSIONS
Injuries due to bear attacks mainly affect the face and neck. Although there were no cases of mortality in this study, facial disfigurement had a long-lasting impact on survivors. Tissue preservation and early reconstruction had the best outcomes.
Identifiants
pubmed: 32591216
pii: S0020-1383(20)30539-8
doi: 10.1016/j.injury.2020.06.032
pii:
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
2082-2085Informations de copyright
Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts
Declaration of Competing Interest The authors have no conflict of interest. We hereby declare that we have no conflicts of interest in the study. No financial support was obtained . The study was not influenced by an interest.