Introduction: Although no official data exists for Colombia, dog bites are not infrequent consults to the emergency department on a global scale. In the urban or rural setting, it is likely that Colombian emergency department physicians face patients with such consults in their clinical practice. It is imperative that those physicians become familiar with the current national guidelines and protocols for the attention of such patients, since he/she must act pertinently according to the resources available.

Methods: An academic review of the Ministerio de la Protección Social current clinical guidelines for the attention of animal bites was carried out. Such information was complemented with the current guidelines for attention of aggression caused by animals posing risk of rabies transmission published by Colombian Instituto Nacional de Salud, and with other articles indexed in Pubmed.

Results: A practical review was obtained directed to the emergency department physician in Colombia. Topics such as epidemiology, patient approach, physical examination, initial management,
wound care, antibiotic prophylaxis, vaccination-immunization for rabies/tetanus and prevention are all discussed.

Conclusions: Dog bites are relatively common consults to the emergency department. Victims affected the most are usually children. All dog bites pose a risk for infection. However, such risk is determined by particular characteristics inherent to the patient and to the type of wounds involved, along with the initial management that has been given. The need for antibiotic prophylaxis and immunization for rabies/tetanus must be assessed independently for each case. Physicians must provide the initial opportune care of the patient to the extent allowed by the available resources and should refer to superior health centers when necessary. Bearing in mind the considerable implications, it is of remarkable importance that prevention measures are adopted in order to avoid dog bites, especially in children.