Prospective audit of 106 consecutive human bite injuries: the importance of history taking.

OBJECTIVES Some patients attempt to conceal human bites with factitious mechanisms of injury. Follow up questioning allows patients to modify their histories. This practice was prospectively audited. METHODS Patients with cutaneous wounds who did not present with a history of human bite were asked a follow up question. Those who then gave a history of human bite were noted. RESULTS Certain groups of patients with human bites were significantly more likely to provide a factitious history and/or delay presentation. CONCLUSION Follow up questioning dramatically increased the case-detection rate, prompting specific management.