Korean J Pediatr Infect Dis.  2013 Apr;20(1):9-16.

Five Year Experience of Preexposure and Postexposure Rabies Prophylaxis in Korean Children at the National Medical Center

• Noh JC
• Park HM
• Park JH
• Won YK
• Lee CH
• Kim JY

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.

Keyword

Preexposure prophylaxis; Postexposure prophylaxis; Rabies

MeSH Terms

Animals
Animals, Wild
Bites and Stings
Child
Child Health
Health Personnel
Humans
Isothiocyanates
Medical Records
Post-Exposure Prophylaxis
Rabies
Vaccination
Isothiocyanates

Figure

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  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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