Priapism in Scorpion Stings within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: A Case Report

Abstract

We report a 2-year-old Saudi boy who presented with an acute onset of asymmetric pulmonary oedema, moribund state and priapism. He was living in the desert and was referred to our hospital during the summer. He was mislabelled as a patient with sickle-cell disease as a very high number of patients come with a crisis of same presentation, and haemoglobinopathies are not uncommon in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. On careful examination of the child, there were multiple tiny lesions on both of his feet and abdomen which led to high suspicion of scorpion stings. The index of suspicion was high due to two reasons;(i) it was the summer, during which the incidence of scorpion stings is high and, (ii) the child was habitated in the desert area where scorpions are common. The child was successfully salvaged with symptomatic support and the specific anti-venom was given. The presen- tation of severe or heavy scorpion intoxication mimics the presentation of sepsis.