@article{ref1,
title="Investigating clinical and cost burdens of law enforcement-related K9 injuries: the impact of "the bite" on a community hospital",
journal="American surgeon",
year="2019",
author="Coombs, Andre V. and Eyerly-Webb, Stephanie A. and Solomon, Rachele J. and Sanchez, Rafael and Lee, Seong K. and Carrillo, Eddy H. and Kiffin, Chauniqua and Rosenthal, Andrew A. and Whitehouse, Jill and Germain, Barbara and Davare, Dafney L.",
volume="85",
number="1",
pages="64-70",
abstract="The decision to introduce canines (K9s) to a law enforcement (LE) agency does not typically involve the evaluation of the fiscal or clinical impact on local hospitals. This study compared injury, cost, and care associated with K9s to a common nonlethal force method, the Thomas A Swift Electrical Rifle (TASER), to highlight the cost and resources required to treat both patient types. Patients treated for LE-related K9 and TASER injuries at a Level I community-based trauma center (2011-2016) were evaluated for level of care required (<i>e.g.</i>, surgeon/specialist), clinical interventions, proxy medical costs, and length of stay (LOS). Nearly one-third of K9 patients required tertiary-level medical care. The cost of treating the K9-inflicted injuries (n = 75) was almost twice as costly as care for patients subdued with a TASER (n = 80); the K9 patients had significantly (one-tailed <i>t</i> tests) higher medical costs (<i>P</i> = 0.036), required more medical procedures (<i>P</i> = 0.014), and had longer LOS (<i>P</i> = 0.0046) than the TASER patients. Patients with K9 injuries had higher acuity and were significantly more expensive to treat with longer LOS than TASER injuries. LE agencies considering establishing and operating a K9 unit should initiate discussions with their local medical first responders and health-care facilities regarding the capabilities to treat severe K9 injuries to ensure adequate resource allocation.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0003-1348",
doi="",
url="http://dx.doi.org/"
}