A hospital based epidemiological study of snakebite in Paschim Medinipur district, West Bengal, India

Abstract

Graphical abstract

A comparative study between retrospective and prospective assessment of rationality and effectiveness of snake bite management in a tertiary care teaching hospital

“…The percentage decreased in prospective year to 70 % reinforcing the fact that more initiatives are needed in increasing the awareness regarding snakebite in rural population. 4,6,11,13 Snakebites in the early morning and foot being the commonest site of bite followed by legs and upper limbs was seen in both years as has been recorded in other studies. 4,11 Polyvalent ASV remained the mainstay of snakebite victims in our country knowing the fact that it is only able to neutralise the free unbound toxins.…”

“…4,6,11,13 Snakebites in the early morning and foot being the commonest site of bite followed by legs and upper limbs was seen in both years as has been recorded in other studies. 4,11 Polyvalent ASV remained the mainstay of snakebite victims in our country knowing the fact that it is only able to neutralise the free unbound toxins. It remains ineffective to the bound portion, so timely institution of ASV is recommended as there are studies proving to have direct correlation with patients outcome.…”

“…Though the ratio of neurotoxic to hematotoxic envenomation varied between two groups but neurotoxic had a larger proportion depicting a similar likeness to other studies. 4,8,11 There was a gross deficit in awareness regarding early presentation of snakebite victim the outcome of which was a delayed presentation of snakebite victim to nearest health facility. Quack and indigenous treatments often take up a good number of hours before a patient presents to the health care facility.…”

“…To address the issue of low access to ASV, it was included by WHO in the Model List for Essential Medicines, encouraging and ensuring adequate national ASV stocks to be maintained by all countries. [3][4][5] Lack of first aid, medical care and public awareness added with scarcity of ASV and strong belief in traditional cultural attitudes towards snakes and snake bites has worsened the picture in India. Moreover, injudicious use of ASV will not only risk the safety of the patient to adverse drug reactions but will also magnify the scarcity of ASV.…”

Neutralization of Naja naja venom induced lethality, edema and myonecrosis by ethanolic root extract of Coix lacryma-jobi

“…The snakes commonly associated with human mortality in India are cobra ( Naja naja ), krait ( Bungarus caeruleus ) Russell’s viper ( Daboia russelli) and saw scaled viper ( Echis carinatus ) [3] . More recent study reports that, most of the victims of snake bite are the people working in agricultural fields in the rural areas and administration of antivenom could be done nearly 4–5 h after the snake bite on an average [4] . In ancient Indian books, there are many plants recommended for use in snakebite therapy.…”