Bear Maul Injury among Patients Presenting to the Department of Surgery in a Tertiary Care Centre: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study.

Introduction: Bears are robust and agile wild creatures that can potentially inflict injuries. Black bears (Ursus thibetanus) are an inhabitant of the mountainous part of Nepal. Encounters between humans and bears generally occur in the bear-prevalent areas of Nepal and the world inflicting complex categorical injuries. The aim of the study was to find the prevalence of bear maul injury among patients presenting to the Department of Surgery in a tertiary care centre.

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was done in the Department of Surgery in a tertiary care centre from 1 August 2017 to 1 September 2022. Data was collected from the records of the Department of Surgery after receiving ethical approval from the Institutional Review Committee (Reference number: 078/79/38). The collected data included time of arrival in the hospital, type of bear, types of laceration, wound type, and demographic of patients. Convenience sampling method was used. Point estimate and 95% Confidence Interval were calculated.

Results: Among 2980 patients presenting to the Department of Surgery, the prevalence of bear maul injury was 15 (0.50%) (0.25-0.75, 95% Confidence Interval). Of which, all had laceration injury, with the face and scalp 9 (60%) being the highest injured site. Autumn was the season attacked most in daytime.

Conclusions: The prevalence of bear maul injury was lower than in other studies done in similar settings.

Keywords: bears; injuries; lacerations; Nepal; prevalence.