Highlights
- •Dog leash-related injuries treated at emergency departments were identified.
- •During 2001–2018, an estimated 356,746 dodgeball-related injuries occurred.
- •54.2% of these injuries resulted from a pull and 38.3% from a trip/tangle.
- •Adults accounted for 88.2% of the patients and 73.0% were female.
Abstract
Background
Although dog ownership may provide health benefits, interactions with dogs and their
leashes can result in injuries. The intent of this study was to describe dog leash-related
injuries treated at United States (US) emergency departments (EDs).
Methods
Cases were dog leash-related injuries during 2001–2018 reported to the National Electronic
Injury Surveillance System (NEISS), from which national estimates of dog leash-related
injuries treated at US EDs were calculated. The distribution of the cases and estimated
number of dog leash-related injuries was determined for selected variables, such as
the circumstances of the injury, patient demographics, and diagnosis.
Results
A dog leash was involved in 8189 injuries, resulting in a national estimate of 356,746
injuries and an estimated rate of 63.4 injuries per 1,000,000 population. Of these
injuries, 193,483 resulted from a pull, 136,767 from a trip/tangle, and 26,496 from
other or unknown circumstances. The total injury rate per 1,000,000 population increased
from 25.4 in 2001 to 105.5 in 2018. Adults accounted for 314,712 (88.2%) of the patients;
260,328 (73.0%) of the patients were female. The injury occurred at home in 133,549
(37.4%) cases. The most common injuries were 95,677 (26.8%) fracture, 92,644 (26.0%)
strain or sprain, and 62,980 (17.7%) contusions or abrasions.
Conclusion
The most common type of dog leash-related injuries resulted from a pull followed by
a trip/tangle. The number of dog leash-related injuries increased during the time
period. The majority of the persons sustaining such injuries were adults and female.
Over one-third of the injuries occurred at home.
Keywords
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Article Info
Publication History
Published online: May 28, 2020
Accepted:
May 21,
2020
Received in revised form:
April 26,
2020
Received:
February 28,
2020
Footnotes
☆This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
Identification
Copyright
© 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
