CAT BITE Antibiotic Prophylaxis for the Hand/Forearm (CATBITE)

Study Summary

Cat bites are puncture wounds that have the potential to seed bacteria deep within the joint capsule, periosteum, and bone. The hand is the most common site of bite injuries. Pasteurella multocida is the is the most common organism isolated from the mouths of cats that can cause infections after a bite. Prophylactic antibiotics are often recommended with amoxicillin-clavulanate for 3-5 days to decrease the incidence of developing an infection. However, only one randomized controlled clinical trial consisting of 12 patients has been performed to justify this course of treatment, raising the possibility that the use of antibiotics could be reduced or even eliminated. Investigators will compare different durations of prophylactic antibiotics and a placebo control for cat bites to the hand/forearm presenting to the Emergency Department, Urgent Care, Plastic Surgery Clinic using a randomized, controlled, double-blind clinical trial. Participants presenting to the University of Missouri Hospital Emergency Department, Missouri University (MU) Healthcare Urgent Care, Plastic Surgery Clinic over the next year will be offered the chance to enroll if they meet the inclusion/exclusion criteria. For inclusion, participants will be \>18 years of age, have cat bites to the hand or distal to elbow, and present within 24 hours of the cat bite injury. Participants must not present with active local or systemic infections, have received antibiotics within the past 30 days, or be immunocompromised (primary and secondary immunodeficiencies). Participants will be randomized to one of three treatment arms (placebo; amoxicillin-clavulanate 1 day; amoxicillin-clavulanate 5 days). Outcomes are the development of an infection at the location of the cat bite and/or systemic infection, adverse effects of interventions, disability assessed by Quick Disabilities of Arm, Shoulder and Hand (QuickDASH) scores, and quality of life (QOL) assessed by HAND Questionnaire (HAND-Q) scores. Infection will b

Primary Outcome

To compare the incidence of infection (skin, soft tissue, joint, bone) between each study arm to determine the effect of antibiotic prophylaxis and duration on cat bites to the hand and/or forearm within 30 days. Infections are defined by, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Healthcare Safety Network.

Conditions Studied

Interventions

• DRUG Ciprofloxacin
• DRUG Clindamycin
• DRUG Amoxicillin/clavulanate
• OTHER Placebo (microcrystalline cellulose)
• PROCEDURE Wound management

Study Locations (1)