A study on the clinical profile and complications of snake bite among patients at a tertiary care centre in Western Odisha

Abstract

Background: India is a country known to the West as a country of snake charmers and snakes. Generation after generation, some families in our country continue to play and live with snakes (snake charmers), but we fail to protect the community from snake bites. Protection from this environmental and occupational hazard requires at least some education of the public with regard to how to protect them from snake bites, as well as what to do after the bite has occurred. Methods: The clinical profile of 88 patients who were admitted to the hospital with snake bites and gave informed consent were studied. Patients were treated with anti-snake venom (ASV) whenever required, the initial dose and total dose of ASV administered were also calculated. Results: Most patients were male (54.5%). The majority of the cases (39.8%) were farmers, followed by housewives (15.9%), daily-wage laborers (13.6%), students (11.4%), and shopkeepers (4.5%). The most common clinical manifestation was an extension of edema beyond the site of bite (29.5%) followed by neurological features (26.1%), pain abdomen (20.5%), vomiting (14.8%), and regional lymphadenitis (12.5%). Out of the 88 cases, 11 cases died and the remaining 77 cases recovered. Mortality was significantly higher among patients with complications such as wound infection (P < 0.0010.000), sepsis (P = 0.000), compartment syndrome (P = 0.028), and haematuria (P = 0.004). Conclusion: Snakebite is an occupational hazard, as more than half of the patients were farmers and labourers. The risk factors such as the time between bite and treatment, snake bite -related complications, and adequate doses of ASV determine the treatment outcome.

Keywords

• anti-snake venom
• clinical manifestation
• snake bite