Clinical Profile of Toxic Snake Bite Cases in Patients Admitted at Dr. Prabhakar Kore Charitable Hospital, Belagavi. A One Year Cross Sectional Study

Abstract

Background and objectives Toxic snake bit remains an important health hazard in the public, especially in developing countries like India. Though, supportive treatments have increased over the years with advancements in medical field, primary treatment remains with the anti snake venom only, whose regimen and effectivity continous to be a matter of debate. This study was intended to study the clinical manifestations developing after a toxic snake bite among the patients admitted in a tertiary care hospital. Methodology This one-year study was done from January 2016 to December 2016 in the Department of Medicine of a tertiary care hospital in North Karnataka. Prior to the commencement, ethical clearance was obtained. A total of 50 patients of toxic snake bite presenting to the medicine department were included. Detailed history and examination was done of any patient of suspected toxic snake bite. Patients were subjected to complete blood count, coagulation profile, and renal profile investigations for further study. Results Majority of the patients were males (70%) and the commonest age group involved was those between 20-40 years. Agricultural section of population is the most commonly affected (50%), lower limbs were affected more commonly (84%). Pain (98%) was the most common symptom, followed by local swelling (80%) and active bleeding from site of bite (44%). Most common snakes in the region was found to be Russell’s viper (58%) and saw-scaled viper (20%). Neurotoxic snakes like cobra (8%) and krait (2%) were encountered less frequently. Cellulitis was the most common complication observed (68%), followed by acute kidney injury (32%). Mortality was seen in only 2% of the cases. Conclusion and interpretation In the present study, it was found that hematotoxic snake bite cases are much more common as compared to neurotoxic snake bite cases, resulting in cellulitis and acute kidney injury being the most frequent complications. Mortality is relatively less among the hematotoxic snake bite victims.