A Cross Sectional Study of Deaths Due to Snakebite: Autopsied at a Tertiary Care Centre, Hubballi

Abstract

Worldwide, Snakebite is an important and preventable health hazard in many of the tropical and subtropical countries. Death following snake bite is a cumulative effect of all the toxic reactions that are produced by the snake venom in the body of the victim. 1 Globally it is estimated that the true incidence of snake envenomation could exceed 3 million per year and about 1,00,000 of these develop severe sequelae. With this background, a study has been conducted to determine the pattern of snakebite death cases, autopsied at KIMS, Hubballi, Karnataka. The study revealed that maximum number of snakebite cases were recorded in the rainy season (34.9%) followed by the winter season (31.7%).In a greater number of cases the incidence of snake bite occurred predominantly in lower limb (54%) as compared to upper limb (46%).Peak incidence of snake bite was recorded in the time between 08:00 am to 04:00 pm (41.3%) followed by 04:00 pm to midnight (30.2%). Majority of the cases were declared dead (47.61%) within 24 hours of initiation of anti-snake venom. The cause of death in majority of the study population was respiratory failure (92.06%) followed by shock (7.93%).