About 4,000 to 6,000 venomous snakebites occur each year in the United States. Although these envenomations (also known as envenomings) are rarely fatal, about 70 percent require antivenom therapy. Few evidence-based guidelines are available for the management of envenomation. Antivenom therapy is the cornerstone of management for hemorrhagic or coagulopathic envenomation from pit vipers (with ...

INTRODUCTION Exotic pets are increasingly popular in Hong Kong and include fish, amphibians, reptiles, and arthropods. Some of these exotic animals are venomous and may cause injuries to and envenomation of their owners. The clinical experience of emergency physicians in the management of injuries and envenomation by these exotic animals is limited. We reviewed the clinical features and outcome...

Stonefish is a dangerous and venomous fish commonly found in the shallow waters of the Pacific region. Its envenomation is reported worldwide with increasing frequency. Although envenomation usually occurs in those engaged in marine sports, chefs may suffer envenomation during cutting stonefish, which is eaten either sliced raw, boiled, or deep-fried by Japanese. Since many people cook and eat ...

BACKGROND The objective of this study is to evaluate the relationships between the mean platelet volume (MPV), neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR) variables and diagnosis or prediction of outcome in children with snakebite envenomation. METHODS Children diagnosed with snakebite envenomation and a control group of healthy subjects were retrospectively ev...

background : envenomation by hemiscorpius lepturus is not painful and the clinical manifestations include bloody urine due to hemoglobinuria or hematuria, dermonecrotic reactions,cardiac arrhythmia and in minority of cases acute renal failure which may lead to death following disseminated intravascular coagulation in infants. cardiac effects of envenomation by h. lepturus venom including inotro...

INTRODUCTION The majority of patients seeking medical treatment for snakebites do not suffer from severe envenomation. However, no guidelines exist for ordering coagulation markers in patients with minimal or moderate envenomation, nor in those who do not receive antivenom. In this study, we sought to determine whether it was possible to limit the practice of ordering coagulation studies to tho...

Diagnosis of snake envenomation is challenging but critical for deciding on antivenom use. Phospholipase A2 enzymes occur commonly in snake venoms and we hypothesized that phospholipase activity detected in human blood post-bite may be indicative of envenomation. Using a simple assay, potentially a bedside test, we detected high phospholipase activity in sera of patients with viper and elapid e...

Envenomation by marine creatures is common. As more people dive and snorkel for leisure, the incidence of envenomation injuries presenting to emergency departments has increased. Although most serious envenomations occur in the temperate or tropical waters of the Indo-Pacific region, North American and European waters also provide a habitat for many stinging creatures. Marine envenomations can ...

BACKGROUND Crotaline snake envenomations are common, but severe crotaline envenomations are infrequent. Death from severe envenomation is usually from upper airway edema and respiratory failure. Published reports of severe respiratory compromise and anaphylactoid reactions are rare. Currently, FabAV (Crotalidae polyvalent immune Fab [Ovine] [CroFab]) is the mainstay of crotaline envenomation tr...

INTRODUCTION Russell's viper (Daboia russelii) is one of the most common medically important snakes reported in Sri Lanka. Its envenomation leads to significant mortality and morbidity with local, hematological, neurological and renal complications. Here we report the case of a patient who presented with bilateral blindness secondary to a bilateral posterior circulation ischemic stroke instead ...