Citation

Mise YF, Lira-da-Silva RM, Carvalho FM. Rev. Soc. Bras. Med. Trop. 2007; 40(5): 569-573.

Vernacular Title

Envenenamento por serpentes do genero Bothrops no Estado da Bahia: aspectos

Affiliation

Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, BA. yukari@ufba.br

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, Sociedade Brasileira De Medicina Tropical)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

17992415

Abstract

This study describes the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of 655 cases of Bothrops snakebites that were attended by and/or notified to the Bahia Antivenin Information Center, State of Bahia, Brazil, in 2001. The annual incidence in the State was 5.0 cases/100,000 inhabitants and lethality was 1%. The incidence was greatest in the North Coast microregion (21.9/100,000 inhabitants) and the municipality of Itanagra (92.9/100,000 inhabitants). The snakebites occurred predominantly during the day, affecting the lower limbs of men aged 11-30 years who worked in rural areas during the rainy period. Medical care was obtained more than 13 hours after the snakebite in 19% of the cases. Moderate (47.8%) and severe (23.6%) clinical presentations prevailed. The local and systemic clinical manifestations followed the usual pattern for Bothrops snakebites in Brazil. However, a few cases presented neurological manifestations, which are not usually attributed to Bothrops snakebites. The antivenin therapy used (7.7 blisters/patient) reflected the fact that the majority of the cases were moderate. Antivenins other than the univalent type were used in 2.3% of the cases.

Language: pt