Snakebite cases in the municipalities of the State of Paraiba, Brazil

Abstract

Results: A total of 304 snakebite cases were studied. The cases occurred most frequently from April to June. The genera Bothrops, Crotalus, and Micrurus were responsible for 74.6%, 6.2%, and 1.3% of cases, respectively. Snakebite cases predominated in males living in rural areas and between 10 and 19 years old. The highest incidence of bites occurred on the feet. The majority of the victims received medical assistance within 1 to 3h after being bitten. With regard to severity, 48% of the cases were classifi ed as mild, 26% as moderate, and 2.6% as severe. Successful cures predominated, and no deaths were reported. The average antivenom ampoule dose used for the treatment in some snakebite cases was lower than that recommended by the Health Ministry. Conclusions: Although our results show that Paraíba has a good level of medical care, there are serious defi ciencies in recording snakebite information. These data indicate the need to improve the recording process for snakebite cases. Further training for health professionals seems to be necessary to optimize their skills in treating snakebite victims.

The epidemiology of snakebite in the Rio Grande do Norte State, Northeastern Brazil

“…Similar results were described by Oliveira et al . 32 in a study realized in the state of Paraíba . The predominance of male individuals involved in the accidents may be explained by the large proportion of men undertaking activities which expose them to accidents such as agricultural and extractive activities 33 , 34 .…”

Envenenamento por serpente Bothrops no município de Afuá, Ilha de Marajó, estado do Pará, Brasil

“…Os sintomas locais e sistêmicos apresentados neste estudo são compatíveis com as características da peçonha botrópica descritas na literatura que estão diretamente relacionadas com ações inflamatórias, hemorrágicas e coagulantes 1,2,3,4,5,9,10 ; entretanto, a vítima apresentou manifestações vagais que, segundo a literatura 1,2,6 , são mais evidentes em envenenamento por serpentes do gênero Lachesis. Segundo Silva 21 , manifestações vagais semelhantes a esse caso também estiveram presentes em vários acidentes ocasionados por serpentes Bothrops em uma microrregião na Ilha de Marajó.…”

“…No país, quatro gêneros de serpentes são responsáveis por envenenamento: Bothrops, Crotalus, Lachesis e Micrurus 2 . Nacionalmente, ocorrem, por ano, cerca de 20.000 casos envolvendo serpentes, e a Região Norte concentra o maior número desses 1,2,3 , com o gênero Bothrops repre sentando o grupo mais importante, afetando principalmente áreas rurais 4,5 .…”

The epidemiology of envenomation via snakebite in the State of Piauí, Northeastern Brazil

“…Table 2 shows that the largest group of victims received medical assistance within 3h after the snakebite (n = 545; 35.7%), and that 235 (15.4%) patients received treatment within the fi rst hour. Earlier Brazilian studies (8) (12) have reported that >80% of snakebite victims are attended to within 6h after the bite. However, our fi nding that 20.1% of victims received and similar results have been reported for other Brazilian regions (9) (12) .…”