@article{ref1,
title="An epidemiological and clinical study of snake-bites in childhood",
journal="Medical journal of Australia",
year="1989",
author="Jamieson, R. and Pearn, J.",
volume="150",
number="12",
pages="698-702",
abstract="The last decade has seen major changes in the first-aid management of elapid snake-bites and the introduction of a new venom-detection kit which can identify the genus of medically-important snakes. In the light of these developments, we report a 10-year study that comprised 218 consecutive children who were admitted to hospital in southeast Queensland, after a confirmed or a suspected snake-bite. One-third (34.9%) of victims were preschool children (zero to five years of age) but the highest &quot;at-risk&quot; group comprised prepubescent boys. In 70% of cases, the bite was on a single lower limb. Of the 218 children who were admitted to hospital, 42% manifested local or systemic symptoms that were consistent with a confirmed snake-bite, irrespective of whether or not the species of snake was venomous. A positive identification of the genus of the offending snake was established in 18.8% of cases. In 35.8% of cases, the Commonwealth Serum Laboratories' Venom Detection Kit was used in an attempt to identify the involved snake, with 10 (4.6% of all cases) positive test-results. We have found that appropriate first aid was applied in the field in a maximum of 18% of cases. Antivenom was administered to 14 children, seven of whom received polyvalent antivenom; one child manifested a severe anaphylactic reaction. There were no fatalities in this series, and no permanent morbidity.<p /><p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0025-729X",
doi="",
url="http://dx.doi.org/"
}