Anurag Chaurasia1 , Keshav Singh2 , Anurag Tiwari3 , M. Indurkar4
BACKGROUND Snakebite is an acute life-threatening time limiting medical emergency. In spite of the availability of optimum treatment in modern medicine, a major proportion of the victims of snake bite in India die. We wanted to study the clinical and demographic profile of snake bites, ratio between poisonous and non-poisonous bites, complication and mortality, along with various factors affecting the prognosis. METHODS This is a prospective observational study of 150 patients aged>15 years. Patients with h/o snake bite & patients presenting with clinical features suggestive of snake venom toxicity were included in the study. RESULTS Incidence of snake bites was most common (60%) in the age group of 21 - 40 years & was more common in males (60%). Maximum number of patients (76.67%) was from the rural areas. Maximum number of cases (66.87%) occurred during July to September. 40% cases were poisonous and 60% were nonpoisonous. In the poisonous group, all patients developed neuroparalytic features. Overall mortality among hospitalized patients was 5.33% while in poisonous group it was 13.33%. CONCLUSIONS Public needs to be educated about pattern of behaviour of snakes, care while moving in night specially in fields, not to sleep on floors, not to waste time in seeking remedies from ojhas.
