JAMA Intern Med
January 2024
Importance: Bothrops venom acts almost immediately at the bite site and causes tissue damage.
Objective: To investigate the feasibility and explore the safety and efficacy of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) in reducing the local manifestations of B atrox envenomations.
Design, Setting, And Participants: This was a double-blind randomized clinical trial conducted at Fundação de Medicina Tropical Doutor Heitor Vieira Dourado, in Manaus, Brazil.
Toxins (Basel)
August 2023
snakebite envenomation (SBE) is consider an important health problem in Brazil, where is mainly responsible in the Brazilian Amazon. Local effects represent a relevant clinical issue, in which inflammatory signs and symptoms in the bite site represent a potential risk for short and long-term disabilities. Among local complications, secondary infections (SIs) are a common clinical finding during SBE and are described by the appearance of signs such as abscess, cellulitis or necrotizing fasciitis in the affected site.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Wound Ostomy Continence Nurs
May 2023
Background: Pit viper snakebites are challenging as they often cause tissue injury and secondary bacterial infection that may impair full recovery of the affected limb. We describe the evolution of a snakebite injury with secondary infection and the use of specialized dressings to achieve tissue repair and complete closure of the wound.
Case: Ms E.
Snakebite envenomings are considered a global health problem. The specific therapy for these envenomings consists of administering animal-derived antivenoms aiming to neutralize the venom toxins. Antivenoms have been used effectively to treat snakebites for more than a century; however, their administration may result in early and/or late adverse reactions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPLoS Negl Trop Dis
December 2021
[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn the Amazon, around 90% of snakebites are caused by the Bothrops genus. Complications arising from Bothrops envenomations result from the inflammatory and coagulotoxic activities of the venom. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) as a biomarker of severity in Bothrops snakebites.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBee venom is a natural toxin composed of several peptides. Massive envenoming causes severe local and systemic reactions. We report two cases of severe bee envenomation, of which one was fatal.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFScorpion envenomations are a major public health problem in Brazil, and most medically important cases are attributable to the Tityus genus. The objective of this study is to describe the clinical and epidemiological aspects of a series of 151 cases of confirmed scorpion stings, which were treated at the hospitals of two cities in the Western Brazilian Amazon, between June 2014 and December 2019. This study shows that the genus Tityus was the most prevalent.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnvenomation by coral snakes represents a little known burden in Brazilian Amazonia. So far, details on clinical and epidemiological aspects remain obscure in the region. We gathered data from medical charts and from the scientific collection of snakes from Fundação de Medicina Tropical Doutor Heitor Vieira Dourado, finding 26 cases of envenomation by five species of Micrurus in Manaus region, between 1987 and 2018.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFToxicon X
June 2020
snakes are mostly endemic of the Amazon rainforest and is certainly the South American pit viper responsible for most of the snakebites in the region. The composition of venom is significantly known and has been used to trace the relevance of the venom phenotype for snake biology and for the impacts in the clinics of human patients involved in accidents by . However, in spite of the wide distribution and the great medical relevance of snakes, taxonomy is not fully resolved and the impacts of the lack of taxonomic resolution on the studies focused on venom or envenoming are currently unknown.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPLoS Negl Trop Dis
June 2020
Snake venoms are complex mixtures of proteins with toxic activities, with many distinct isoforms, affecting different physiological targets, comprised in a few protein families. It is currently accepted that this diversity in venom composition is an adaptive advantage for venom efficacy on a wide range of prey. However, on the other side, variability on isoforms expression has implications in the clinics of human victims of snakebites and in the efficacy of antivenoms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCoral snakes constitute a relatively diverse and little known group of venomous snakes. So far, data for this kind of snakebite in the Amazon region are based only on case reports. This study takes advantage of novel data from the Brazilian Health Ministry database from 2010 to 2015 and presents a review of the cases reported in the literature regarding the Amazonian biome both from Brazil and nearby countries.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlthough underreported across the Amazon region, scorpion stings are very prevalent in some areas and can be potentially life-threatening, especially in children. The most vulnerable populations are those living in locations far from the capitals, hence having limited access to the health system where the appropriate structure for the treatment of severe cases is found. An abundant and diverse fauna of scorpions is found in the region, but few studies have been conducted to decipher the clinical characteristics and therapeutic response of the available antivenoms in envenomings caused by the various species.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRev Soc Bras Med Trop
July 2019
Snakebites were included by the World Health Organization in their list of neglected diseases. In Latin America, most snakebites are caused by species of the Viperidae family, notably by the genus Bothrops. Bothrops atrox accounts for 90% of the cases of envenoming in the Brazilian Amazon.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFClin Toxicol (Phila)
April 2020
snakebites are a major public health problem in the Amazon region and also cause hemostatic disorders. In this study, we assessed the recovery from hemostatic disorders in snakebite patients after being given antivenom therapy. This is a prospective study of snakebite patients ( = 100) treated at the , Manaus, Brazilian Amazon, between January 2016 and December 2017.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPLoS One
February 2019
Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) is the main systemic complication and cause of death in viperid envenomation. Although there are hypotheses for the development of AKI, the mechanisms involved are still not established. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical-laboratorial-epidemiological factors associated with AKI in victims of Bothrops sp envenomation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSnake envenomation is a major public health problem in Brazil. Systemic complications that may arise from snakebites are mainly related to coagulopathy. The Lee-White clotting time (LWCT) is a simple and inexpensive test and available even in remote health facilities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: In tropical areas, a major concern regarding snakebites treatment effectiveness relates to the failure in liquid antivenom (AV) distribution due to the lack of an adequate cold chain in remote areas. To minimize this problem, freeze-drying has been suggested to improve AV stability.
Methods And Findings: This study compares the safety and efficacy of a freeze-dried trivalent antivenom (FDTAV) and the standard liquid AV provided by the Brazilian Ministry of Health (SLAV) to treat Bothrops, Lachesis and Crotalus snakebites.
Bothrops atrox is the snake responsible for the majority of snakebites in the Brazilian Amazon. Patients generally evolve to local manifestations such as edema, pain and ecchymoses. Systemic effects of B.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPLoS Negl Trop Dis
July 2017
Background: Secondary bacterial infections from snakebites contribute to the high complication rates that can lead to permanent function loss and disabilities. Although common in endemic areas, routine empirical prophylactic use of antibiotics aiming to prevent secondary infection lacks a clearly defined policy. The aim of this work was to estimate the efficacy of amoxicillin clavulanate for reducing the secondary infection incidence in patients bitten by Bothrops snakes, and, secondarily, identify risk factors for secondary infections from snakebites in the Western Brazilian Amazon.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFContact with Lonomia caterpillars can cause a hemorrhagic syndrome. In Brazil, Lonomia obliqua and Lonomia achelous are known to cause this venom-induced disease. In the Brazilian Amazon, descriptions of this kind of envenomation are scarce.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFreshwater stingray injuries are a common problem in the Brazilian Amazon, affecting mostly riverine and indigenous populations. These injuries cause severe local and regional pain, swelling and erythema, as well as complications, such as local necrosis and bacterial infection. Herein, we report a case of bacterial infection and hallux necrosis, after a freshwater stingray injury in the Brazilian Amazon, which eventually required amputation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFScorpion stings are a public health problem in the Brazilian Amazon. However, detailed clinical characterization with the proper animal identification is scarce. Here we report a confirmed case of envenoming by Tityus cf.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Amazon region reports the highest incidence of snakebite envenomings in Brazil. We aimed to describe the epidemiology of snakebites in the state of Amazonas and to investigate factors associated with disease severity and lethality. We used a nested case-control study, in order to identify factors associated with snakebite severity and mortality using official Brazilian reporting systems, from 2007 to 2012.
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