Journal List > Korean J Pediatr Infect Dis > v.20(1) > 1096055

Noh, Park, Park, Won, Lee, and Kim: Five Year Experience of Preexposure and Postexposure Rabies Prophylaxis in Korean Children at the National Medical Center

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to investigate preexposure prophylaxis and postexposure prophylaxis of rabies that the National Medical Center (NMC) handled and to check whether appropriate measures were performed according to the recent domestic and overseas guidelines after animal bites.

Methods

This study surveyed 41 people who were 18 years or under and received preexposure and postexposure prophylaxis of rabies at the NMC from November 2006 to December 2011. Their medical records were reviewed for their age, gender, the reason for preexposure prophylaxis, the body sites of animal bite, the kind of the animal that bit children, the region where the biting occurred and rabies vaccination and inoculation of immunoglobulin.

Results

Eleven children took rabies vaccination for preexposure prophylaxis and 30 children received post exposure prophylaxis of rabies. Of patients who were bitten by unvaccinated animals including wild animals or by animals which were not certain to be vaccinated, 50% (13 of 26 children) received postexposure prophylaxis, while 75% (3 of 4 children) of patients who were bitten by vaccinated animals received postexposure prophylaxis of rabies. Ten of 30 bitten patients knew whether or not the biting animals had received rabies vaccination. Of them, four people (40%) were bitten by animals which had received rabies vaccination.

Conclusion

To prevent the occurrence of rabies, people and health care providers need to correctly understand latest guideline for rabies preexposure and postexposure prophylaxis and the information for bitten patient, biting animal and area at bitten by animal should be accurately recorded.

Figures and Tables

Fig. 1
Age distribution of children with preexposure prophylaxis of rabies, by gender.
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Fig. 2
Age distribution of children bitten by animal from 2007 to 2011 in the NMC.
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Fig. 3
Body site of animal bite.
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Table 1
The Classification of Children Bitten by the Animals, Depending on Whether Animal Took Rabies Vaccination or not (n=case number)
kjpid-20-9-i001

*Incomplete post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) was composed of less than four dose vaccination with or without administration of human rabies immune globulin (HRIG).

Complete PEP means that five dose vaccination with or without HRIG were administered.

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