Venomous snakebite — Significance of the bite site and local reaction

Abstract

Snakebite is an environmental and occupational hazard in India. Death and disabilities due to snakebite remains a major public health challenge. For the fight against this battle a greater investment should be focused on the preventive measures. This includes understanding of the common seasons of snake bites, location and also the site of snake bite. Understanding these will help in taking better preventive measures. This is a 6-year retrospective observational study of 70 venomous snake bite cases admitted to a tertiary care center in South India. Inclusion criteria has been all confirmed case of envenomation by venomous snake bite. Chi square test was done to find the association between categorical variables. The study sample size is 70. Mean age in our study is 34.66 ± 18.57 years. 57.1% were male. 79% snake bites occurred outdoor. 57.1 % patients had local reaction along with hemotoxic/neurotoxic symptoms. 28.5% patients had only local reaction. 84% bites occurred in lower limb. 43% bites occurred in the foot. Statistically borderline significant correlation between site of bite and local reaction alone (p=0.05). We could not find a statistically significant correlation between site of bite and local reaction with hemotoxic / neurotoxic symptoms (p=0.236). 59% snake bites occurred during Monsoon season this was followed by post monsoon season. Snakebite is a neglected tropical disease and remains as an underestimated cause of accidental death in modern India. Significance of bite site along with seasonal variations in snakebites helps in formation of effective preventive strategies, which along with prompt primary treatment holds the key in reducing the impact of venomous snakebite.