Venomous snakebites in Diwaniah: A Clinicoepidemiological descriptive study

Abstract

Background: venomous snakebite is an important health hazard in this areaassociated with high mortality.Objectives: exploration of snake envenomation cases inchildren and adolescents up to the age of 16 years in this city with a focus on clinicaland demographic characters and causes of death. Patients and methods: thisobservational and retrospective study involves 49 cases of venomous snakebitesadmitted to the teaching hospitals in this city between 2005-2009. Results: the medianage of patients was 8 years, 84% of the bites happened during the hot season( May –August), most cases were from rural areas ( 90%) particularly from Albdeer,Shannafiah and Alhaffar. The death rate among the studied patients was 28.6% whichwas very high in comparison with rates reported elsewhere. Conclusion: There is aneed for exploration of the types of venomous snakes in this area and a demand forthe availability of species specific antivenom.