The age, type, etc., time of injury, body areas injured, treatment modalities and mortality rates were reviewed in 185 dogs and 11 cats that were bitten by dogs. Male dogs were more frequently bitten than females, and small dogs (< or = 10 kg) were not only the most common victims but also were more likely to suffer multiple injuries. Mortality occurred only in cases with thoracic or abdominal injuries. Exploratory thoracotomy, performed in some of the cases presented with penetrating thoracic injury, did not prove to alter prognosis. Cats are not as frequently bitten as dogs, and are often younger than the mean age of cats in the overall hospital population.

Summary Osteomyelitis of lumbar vertebrae was seen in three dogs in association with penetration of grass seeds. In one dog a sinus extended from the sublumbar abscess to the flank. In two dogs there was extensive destruction of two lumbar vertebrae and hind limb weakness. All cases responded to removal of the grass seed and drainage. The possible route of entry of the seed is discussed.

Bite wounds of the chest wall in small dogs can extend into the thorax and can be associated with severe damage to chest wall muscles, ribs, and lungs. Two major problems associated with the management of these wounds are lack of sufficient muscle tissue for chest wall reconstruction, and difficulty draining the extensive dead space created in the chest wall. We describe a simple method to overcome these problems. The bite wound areas were surgically explored and all devitalized soft tissue was debrided. The pleural cavity was explored, intrathoracic injuries repaired, and a thoracic drainage tube was placed. Ribs in the injured area were stabilized in anatomic position by means of heavy gauge sutures passed around pairs of adjacent ribs, thus creating a scaffolding for soft tissues. Viable muscle and subcutaneous tissues were apposed as much as possible and the skin closed over the defect. Eleven small dogs were treated using this technique. All dogs had severe injuries to the thoracic wall muscles and eight dogs had multiple rib fractures. There was no evidence of chest wall instability in any of the dogs after surgery. Nine dogs survived the injury and were reevaluated 3 to 32 months after surgery. All were clinically normal. One dog developed wound infection and pyothorax, caused by insufficient debridement of injured muscle tissue, and died 10 days after surgery. A second dog died 24 hours postoperatively of undetermined causes.

SUMMARY BackgroundAspirin is widely used to modify the risk of recurrent vascular events. It is, however, associated with increased upper gastrointestinal bleeding risk. The influence of Helicobacter pylori on this risk is uncertain.