Factors related to delay in initiating post-exposure prophylaxis for rabies prevention among animal bite victims: a cross-sectional study in Northwest of Iran

The aim of the present study was to identify factors associated with h delayed initiation of post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) among animal bite victims. This cross-sectional study assessed biting patterns among 3032 cases that were referred to Tabriz Rabies Center. The delay was described as the initiation of PEP more than 48 hours (h) after possible exposure to the rabies virus. Determinants of delay in initiating PEP were recognized by a decision tree model. Totally, 8.5% of the victims who were bitten by an animal had a delay of more than 48 h in the initiation of PEP. The relative frequency of a delay more than 48 h in females was higher than in males (12.9% compared to 8.5%) (p-value= 0.004). Relative frequency of a delay of more of 48 h from carnivorous (dog, jackal, fox) was significantly less than others (p-value< 0.001). Of the decision tree, the overall classification accuracy was 89.5%, with 44.1% sensitivity and 92.3% specificity. The identified variables included gender, biting place (rural, urban), and type of animal. according to the results of the present study, among the various variables that affect the delayed initiation of PEP, rural residents and being female, in particular, were the major factors associated with a delay in the initiation of PEP for rabies prevention. We found relatively low rates of vaccine completion. Our findings indicat that providing training and patient education are required to ensure the completion of appropriate treatment.