Egyptian Doctors' Adherence to Anti-rabies Post-exposure Prophylactic Protocols; A Survey Study

There is no known effective treatment for rabies, and virtually all cases are fatal. Although the prognosis is poor in patients who develop rabies, the disease is usually preventable with proper wound care and post-exposure prophylaxis. Following a thorough risk assessment, the decision to initiate rabies post-exposure prophylaxis should be made. The risk assessment should consider the type of exposure, local rabies epidemiology in animals, vaccination history of the animal, circumstances of the exposure incident, and the availability of the animal for observation or rabies testing .

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) have adopted guidelines for starting post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) against rabies. The decision to start Anti-Rabies PEP is usually made in primary health care units or emergency departments .

Lack of adherence to these guidelines might result in unnecessary costs and medical risks, such as injection site reactions and systemic hypersensitivity reactions . This malpractice of inappropriate anti-rabies PEP prescription is not uncommon.