Seasonal variation, treatment outcome, and its associated factors among the snakebite patients in Somali region, Ethiopia

Abstract

BackgroundSnakebite is a major cause of mortality and morbidity in many areas, particularly in the rural tropics, and is a major public health problem around the world. It also imposes significant economic burdens on snakebite victims due to treatment-related expenses and lost productivity.ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to assess seasonal variation, treatment outcomes, and its associated factors among snakebite in Denan health center in the Somali region, Ethiopia.MethodA facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted from 10 to 30 September 2020 in Denan health center, Somali region, Ethiopia. All snakebite cases in Denan health center from 1 September 2015 to 31 August 2020 were included. Data were collected using a pre-tested structured checklist from the patient cards. Data were entered into EpiData version 3.1 and analyzed using SPSS version 22 (IBM SPSS Statistics, 2013). The prevalence was reported by proportion with 95% confidence interval (CI) and summary measures. Predictors were assessed using a multivariable logistic regression analysis model and reported using an adjusted odds ratio with 95% CI. Statistical significance was declared at p-value < 0. 05.ResultThe overall prevalence of poor outcome of venomous snakebites was 31.4% (95% CI 26.3% 35.4%). Study participants with an age of less than 10 years old (AOR = 2.01; 95% CI 1.39, 4.05), age between 10 and 30 years old (AOR = 2.06; 95% CI 1.39, 9.30), arrival times greater than or equal to 6 hours (AOR = 2.37; 95% CI 1.39, 4.05), and timing of snakebite (AOR = 0.49; 95% CI 0.31–0.87) were factors found to be significantly associated with poor treatment outcome.ConclusionAccording to this study, about one in every three snakebite patients have a poor outcome. Patients with poor outcomes were those who did not improve as a result of treatment or died as a result of it. Designing appropriate engagement of public health education about snakebite prevention techniques, particularly during entry and exit of rainy seasons and establishment of appropriate case management protocol is strongly recommended, as well as increasing the accessibility or availability of antivenoms will undoubtedly have a significant impact on the reduction of mortality and disability related to that of the snakebites.

Clinical characteristics and use of antibiotics in a group of patients with snake bites in Colombia

“…11 The median age of the patients was similar to that found in Australia (33 years) 12 and another study from Colombia (31.7 years) 4 but lower than that reported in other countries (41.0-52.0 years), [13][14][15][16] with a predominance of men, as identified in the different studies (59.3-80.8%). 4,[12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25] In this cohort of patients, the genus of the snake that was most identified was Bothrops, which is consistent with the epidemiological surveillance data of the country. 4,5 A third of all patients could not identify the genus of the snake, a difficulty that also occurs in other countries but in higher proportions (49.0-54.7%).…”

“…The use of traditional practices and tourniquets were common behaviors in the out-of-hospital management of some patients, which is consistent with what has been described in other communities. 5,7,9,22,23,25 However, these approaches have not proven effective and can lead to complications. 2 The ophidian accident was classified in most cases in the mild or moderate category, which is in line with that reported in other international studies (73.6–97.2%) 7,13,14,19,20,22 and national studies (79.9–93.7%).…”

Identifying key factors contributing to treatment costs for snakebite envenoming in private tertiary healthcare settings in Tamil Nadu, India

“…Therefore, more healthcare policies should be developed to tackle various issues associated with SBE treatment costs. For example, intense public awareness activities are required to educate people about the identification of locally available medically important venomous snakes and encourage patients to seek prompt care as arriving at the hospitals earlier will reduce the treatment costs [ 12 , 15 , 27 , 40 , 42 ]. The delay in seeking treatment is not only exacerbating envenomation effects and treatment costs, but it is also significantly increasing the long-term health consequences, which may ultimately result in further socioeconomic impacts [ 43 ].…”