Evaluation of patients with snakebite who presented to the emergency department: 132 cases.

BACKGROUND: The present objective was to evaluate clinical stages, complications, treatment modalities, and termination of treatment in patients who presented to the emergency department with snakebite.

METHODS: A total of 132 snakebite cases were retrospectively examined using emergency department records.

RESULTS: The majority of patients, 42.9% (n=57), had grade 0 snakebite. The local complication most frequently observed was pain (42.4%, n=56); the most common systemic complication was prolonged international normalized ratio (INR) level (5.3%, n=7). Local complications were observed in patients at all stages, while systemic complications were observed only in patients at advanced stages. Antivenom was administered in 46.4% (n=61) of patients, 52.2% (n=69) of patients were hospitalized, and 47.7% (n=63) of patients were discharged after 6-12 hours of monitoring. No negative outcome was observed during 6-month or year-long follow-up.

CONCLUSION: Complications should be evaluated based on type of toxin, and appropriate treatment should be initiated efficiently, according to clinical stage. This approach reduces or prevents the development of complications.