Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical sciences, Ahvaz, Iran

2 Department of Clinical Toxicology, Razi Hospital, School of Medicine, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran

3 Faculty of Medicine, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran

Abstract

Introduction: Due to the diversity of snakes in Iran, understanding the demographic characteristics of patients can be effective in better treatment. The aim of this study was to determine the clinical symptoms of snakebites in children admitted to Abuzar Hospital of south of Iran from 2018-2020.
Methods: The present study was descriptive-analytical and retrospective. A number of 145 snakebites children referred to Abuzar Hospital of south of Iran from 2018-2020 were selected by census and examined. The clarified was extracted from the analysis using SPSS software version 22. 
Results: The mean age of snakebite children was 10.73±3.41 years, 92 (63.4%) were male children. The mean of anti -venom intake in bitten children was 4.93±1.44, the mean BUN (Blood Urea Nitrogen) 13.70±4.01, and the mean creatinine 0.68±0.14. The mean duration of hospitalization 4.05±2.13 days and the mean duration of onset of symptoms after the bite in patients was 94.34±109.31 hours. The mean of coagulation problems in the first stage in patients was 2.76±1.91 and 82 (56.6%) of snake bred children received FFP blood product. The first symptom after a bite in 60 snakebite children (41.4%) was pain. Four patients (2.8%) were hospitalized for two days and two patients (1.4%) were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) for three days. The location of 49 of the snakebite children was Ahvaz (33.8%) and none of the snakebite children died. 
Conclusion: According to the results of this study and understanding the epidemiology of snakebite in the Khozestan province, it is possible to play an effective role in preventing snakebites and other causes by educating all health care workers and physicians as well as raising public awareness in the community.

Keywords

  1. Warrell DA. Snake bite. Lancet 2010; 375:77-88.
  2. Dehghani R, Rabani D, Panjeh Shahi M, Jazayeri M, Sabahi Bidgoli M. Incidence of snake bites in Kashan, Iran during an eight-year period (2004-2011). Arch TraumaRes 2012; 1:67-71.
  3. Monzavi SM, Dadpour B, Afshari R. Snakebite management in Iran: Devising a protocol. J Res Med Sci 2014; 19:153-63.
  4. Adukauskienė D, Varanauskienė E, Adukauskaitė A. Venomous snakebites. Medicina (Kaunas) 2011; 47:461-7.
  5. Chandrashekar C, Shariff MA, Gopal K, Ravichander B. Clinical profile of snakebite in children. J Evidence Based Med Healthcare. 2015;2(29):4176-84.
  6. Krishna VM. Clinical profile and outcome of snake-bite en-venomation in children: a retrospective study in a tertiary care centre kims narketpally. Int J Information Res Rev. 2014;1(11):155-8.
  7. Lingayat AM, Wankhade PR. Study of clinical profile complications and outcome in patients of snake bite in pediatric age group. Int J Healthcare Biomed Res.2015;3(3):203-8.
  8. ishwanath B, Ganesh P.Demography, clinical profile, morbidity and mortality pattern of snake bite cases in children: a study at tertiary teaching hospital, India. Int J Contemp Pediatr 2019; 6:1472-5.
  9. Ralph R, Sharma SK, Faiz MA, Ribeiro I, Rijal S, Chappuis F, et al. The timing is right to end snake bite deaths in South Asia.BMJ.2019;364:5317.
  10. Pattinson JP, Kong VY, Bruce JL, Oosthuizen GV, Bekker W, Laing GL, et al. Defining the need for surgical intervention following a 44 snakebite still relies heavily on clinical assessment: The experience in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. South African Medical Journal. 2017;107(12):1082-5.
  11. Hanumanna AK, Kariyappa M, Vinutha GN. Clinico-epidemiological profile of snake bite in children in a tertiary care centre: a hospital based study. Int J Contemp Pediatr 2018; 5:124-8.
  12. Meshram RM, Bokade CM, Bhongade SD, Gajimwar VS. Clinical and Laboratory Predictors of Mortality Following Snake Bite Envenomation in Children in Central India: A Retrospective Observational Study. J Pediatr Dis Neonatal Care. 2018;1(202):5-14.
  13. Rahimi N, Khani A. Snake venoms in northwestern Iran. Scientific Reports. 1398: 10: 25-36.
  14. Hafezi H, khodkar A. Epidemiological and clinical investigation of snakebite during a five-year period in Karun Iran. Preventive Medicine. 2017;6(2): 23-33.
  15. Farzaneh E, Fouladi N. Epidemiological study of snakebites in Ardabil Province (Iran). Electronic Physician. 2017; 9(3):3986-3990.
  16. Mohammadi Kojidi H, Rahbar Taramsari M, Badsar A, Hashemi E, Attarchi M. Evaluation of Clinical and Iaboratory Findings in Snakebite Patients. jour guilan uni med sci. 2017; 26 (102) :71-77.
  17. Kshirsagar VY, Ahmed M, Colaco SM. Clinical profile of snake bite in children in rural India. Iranian journal of pediatrics. 2013 Dec;23(6):632.
  18. Karunanayake. A study of snake bite among children presenting to a paediatric ward in the main Teaching Hospitalof North Central Province of Sri Lanka. BMC Research Notes20147;482.
  19. Tednes M, Slesinger T. Evaluation and Treatment of Snake Envenomations. StatPearls Publishing; 2022.