Scorpion stings in one province of Morocco: epidemiological, clinical and prognosis aspects

Scorpion stings are a public health problem in Morocco, especially among children, who experience the most severe cases. Epidemiological and clinical findings on scorpion stings in Fez, Morocco, were evaluated in this investigation. Of 163 cases that required medical attention, 62.6% were male children. The mean age of patients was 4.8 ± 3.4 years. The mean time between stings and first medical attention was 3.36 ± 2.5 hours. Almost all cases occurred in the summer (94%) and extremities represented the most frequent sting sites (86.5%). Local pain, hyperemia, scarification, vomiting, sweating, restlessness, tachycardia and tachypnea were the observed clinical symptoms. Regarding severity, 55.2% of patients belonged to class III, followed by class II (26.4%) and class I (18.4%). None of our patients received antivenom; however, all of them were treated symptomatically depending on clinical manifestations.

“…Comparison among data from recent years revealed an increased number of reported cases and decreased morbidity and mortality (12).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of scorpion stings in children in fez, Morocco

Abourazzak¹,

Achour²,

Arqam³

et al. 2009

“…Epidemiological data compiled by the Poison Control and Pharmacovigilance Center of Morocco (CAPM) showed that scorpion stings are the leading cause of poisoning in Morocco with an incidence ranging from 0 to 2.9‰ and an overall casefatality rate of 0.36% up to 5.3% in some areas (3).Ninety percent of the fatal victims were younger than 15 years old (1). According to the data from the national strategy against scorpion stings, approximately 25,000 stung patients are recorded every year in Morocco (4).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Risk factors for scorpion stings in the beni mellal province of morocco

Charrab

Oufir²,

Soulaymani

et al. 2009

Scorpion stings comprise a serious problem throughout the globe, especially in regions where they are more frequent. In Morocco, Beni Mellal is one of the provinces most affected by this burden. This study aimed to trace the epidemiological profile of scorpion stings in Beni Mellal in order to improve patient care and prevent both morbidity and mortality. Our work is a retrospective study of scorpion stings based on medical charts of Beni Mellal. From 2002 cases were registered in this province with an average incidence of 1.36‰. The stings were more frequent in summer months, particularly July and August, and between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. (59.8%). The average age of victims was 26.54 ± 18.42 years. Children were affected in 30.3% of the cases. Of all registered cases, 67.3% of the patients received medical aid in less than an hour after the sting. The envenomation rate (Class II and Class III) was 12.4% and the overall case-fatality rate was 0.42% with a mortality rate of 0.005‰. Statistical analysis of the various studied factors revealed a significant connection among the envenomation class, patient age and evolution.

“…Scorpions play an important role in severe cases of human envenomation in Morocco (10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16). A previous epidemiological study (10) showed that scorpion stings accounted for 30%-50% of all the poisoning cases reported to the Poison Control Center of Morocco (PCCM) mainly in the south and central-south provinces of the country, where the highest lethality rate was reported.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scorpion sting: a public health problem in El Kelaa des Sraghna (Morocco)

Oufir¹,

Semlali²,

Idrissi³

et al. 2008

Self Cite

ABSTRACT:The present study aimed at verifying the impact of a Moroccan strategy against scorpion stings and specifically at identifying the epidemiological features of patients envenomed or just stung by scorpions. It included 11,907 patients from El Kelaa des Sraghna Province, Morocco, who were evaluated over five years (2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005). Most stings occurred during the hot period and mainly at night. The average incidence was 3.2 per 1,000 inhabitants; patients ≤15 years accounted for 34%, and the envenomation rate was 12%. Average lethality rate was 0.7%. Our work evaluated the efficacy of the adopted strategy based on indicators of follow-up, morbidity and lethality due to scorpion sting and envenomation.