Diagnostic imaging of injuries caused by venomous and traumatogenic catfish

• Main Authors: Marcos Mendes de Barros Negreiros, Seizo Yamashita, Trajano Sardenberg, Edson Luiz Fávero Junior, Felipe Augusto Horácio Ribeiro, William Teixeira Haddad Junior, Vidal Haddad Junior
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical (SBMT)
• Series: Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical
• Subjects: Bites and Stings; Catfish; Computed tomography.
• Online Access: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0037-86822016000400530&lng=en&tlng=en

Abstract: Injuries caused by fish are common in marine and freshwater environments. Catfish of the Ariidae and Pimelodidae families cause about 80% of those injuries. One of the complications of injuries caused by fish is the retention of fragments of the stinger in the wounds. Here we report five cases (of a total of 127 injuries caused by catfish in the Brazilian coast) in which the retained fragments were detected by radiological examination. Retained fragments should be considered in patients stung by catfish. A simple X-ray is sufficient to detect fragments of stingers in the wounds.