Management of severe scorpion sting at rural settings: what is the role of scorpion antivenom?

Evaluation of scorpion sting incidence in turkey

“…Middle East and North African countries (13, 14, 16-18, 34, 40); P. granulatus and P. transvaalicus in South African countries (7,27); and M. tamulus and Palamneus swammerdami in India (6,25).…”

“…In Turkey, A. crassicauda, L. quinquestriatus, M. gibbosus, and M. eupeus have been considered dangerous to humans (6,12,(29)(30)(31)(32).…”

“…All scorpions are venomous, but only fifty of them are potentially lethal to humans (19,28). Scorpion stings can be lifethreatening, especially for children and older individuals that may suffer from respiratory and/or cardiovascular diseases in the future (6,13,18,25). Therefore, they are considered medically important arthropods since they cause envenomation by stinging humans, most of the times, to protect themselves (13,30,32).…”

Effects of Androctonus crassicauda (Olivier, 1807) (Scorpiones: Buthidae) venom on rat metabolism

“…Scorpion venoms are composed of different concentrations of neurotoxins, cardiotoxins, nephrotoxins, phosphodiesterases, hyaluronidases, glycosaminoglycans, histamines, serotonins, tryptophans, and cytokine releasers (11,25). The lethal fraction of venom from different species of scorpions has similar effects on the autonomic nervous system (6). The symptoms caused by scorpion stings in animal models are similar to those observed in humans (36).…”

“…Following venom injection, the highest toxin concentration has been found in the kidneys, liver, heart and lungs (3,37 A direct effect of scorpion venom on myocardium has been shown in several studies (4,6,21,40). Some researchers have reported that ALT and AST activities in the serum change during scorpion envenomation (22,26,31,37,49).…”