Epidemiological and Clinical aspects of Snakebites in Bolivar State, Venezuela
ABSTRACT: A retrospective study of the clinical and epidemiological aspects of snakebites in the Bolivar State, Venezuela, from January 1990 to December 1999 was done for 284 patients from the University Hospital Ruiz y Paez, in Bolivar City, Venezuela. Most of the patients were rural workers, 155 (76.4%) males and 48 (23.6%) females, from one to sixty years old. One hundred and five (51.7%) patients were diagnosed as bitten by Bothrops snakes; 75 (37.0%) by Crotalus, and 23 (11.3%) by Lachesis. One hundred seventy five (86.2%) were bitten in the legs and 28 (13.8%) in the arms. The high incidence of bothropic envenomation was from January to November, while crotalic envenomation was from June to December. Lachesic envenomation was from October to December. This study showed that the prevalence of crotalic envenomation in Bolivar State was higher than other regions of the country. Further prospective epidemiological studies will be necessary for a better understanding of these findings.
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Digital revista |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Universidad Central de Venezuela. Facultad de Medicina. Comisión de Publicaciones de la Facultad de Medicina
2004
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| Online Access: | http://ve.scielo.org/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0798-04692004000100005 |
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