Snake Bites in The Arabian Peninsula: A Scoping Review

Abstract

INTRODUCTIONThe aim of this study is to provide a comprehensive review of snake bites in the Arabian Peninsula. METHODS A scoping review was conducted from October to December 2022, and included sources from PubMed, Ovid, the Cochrane Database, reference lists of relevant articles, and grey literature sources such as ClinicalTrials.gov and the World Health Organization’s International Clinical Trials Registry Platform. The keywords used were “Arabian Peninsula”, “Saudi Arabia”, “Qatar”, “Kuwait”, “Oman”, “United Arab Emirates”, “Bahrain”, “Yemen”, “snake venom”, “snake bite”, and “envenomation”. The inclusion criteria for selecting studies were those that explored snake bites in various regions of the Arabian Peninsula. RESULTS 28 studies were included, with a total of 16,602 snake bite cases. In 78.57% of cases, the initial presentation was a local injury. Haematological manifestations were seen in several of the reported cases, while some cases showed neurological symptoms and cardiac manifestation. Leucocytosis, thrombocytopenia/thrombocytosis, and acute kidney injury and proteinuria were also observed. The administered dose of antivenom varied, and post-antivenom complications were seen in less than one third of the reported cases. CONCLUSIONThe current body of literature does not provide a concise management plan for snake bite in the Arabian Peninsula. We provide a proposed plan for treating and monitoring such cases.