A study on Clinico-Epidemiological profile of snakebite patients in a tertiary care centre in Bangalore

• Main Author: Harshavardhana H S
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Makhdoomi Printers 2014-01-01
• Series: Global Journal of Medicine and Public Health
• Subjects: Snake bites; Bangalore; Viper; Cobra; cross-sectional; epidemiology
• Online Access: http://gjmedph.com/uploads/O1-Vo3No2.pdf
• ISSN: 2277-9604; 2277-9604

BACKGROUND Snake-bites are the common cause of morbidity and mortality in tropical countries. In India, there are 216 species of snakes, of which only four are venomous snakes (cobra, krait, Russell’s viper and saw scaled viper). This study was undertaken to find out the clinical and epidemiological profile of snake-bite patients in a tertiary care centre in Bangalore. AIMS The study was done to know the epidemiology, clinical features, complications and outcomes of snake bite victims. METHODOLOGY The present descriptive, cross-sectional, observational study was carried out in the department of Emergency Medicine, Kempegowda institute of medical sciences, a tertiary care centre in Bangalore on 50 snake bite victims. After obtaining their consent, data were collected on pre-designed, pre-tested, and structured questionnaire by interviewing the study subjects who were hospitalized during the study period. INTRODUCTION Bites by snakes still represent an important health problem in the tropical world. The true incidence of snakebites is difficult to assess and often is underreported. There are approximately 5.4 million victims per year, with 4 million in Asia, 1 million in Africa, 300,000 in central and South America, and 100,000 in the other continents1Among the estimated 125,345 deaths in 1998, 100,000 were in Asia, 20,000 were in Africa, 5,000 were in central and South America, and 345 were in the other areas. In Asia, deaths by snakebites per year have been estimated to be around 20 in Thailand, 200 in Nepal, 250 in the Philippines, 1,000 in Sri Lanka, and 20,000 each in India and Pakistan2 Among 2,700 species of snakes, 500 are venomous. Venomous snakes belong to 4 families, including Conflict of Interest—none Funding—none RESULTS There were 36 males (72%) and 14 females (28%) out of 50 patients studied. Out of 50 patients studied 35 patients had Viper bite, 6 patients had Cobra bite, 2 patients had Krait bite and in 7 patients snake was not identified. Majority of the snake bites were in the lower limbs (72.0%). The highest number of cases occurred during July- October (42%). Most of the victims were farmers (54.0%) and labourers (18.0%), which suggested that snake bite was an occupational hazard. Mortality in our study was 4%. CONCLUSION Snake bite is an occupational hazard and awareness among farmers and labourers regarding wearing of foot wears, early management and transfer to hospital is very important in reducing the morbidity and mortality associated with snake bite.