Bites by the colubrid snake Philodryas patagoniensis: a clinical and epidemiological study of 297 cases.

We retrospectively analyzed 297 proven cases of Philodryas patagoniensis bites admitted to Hospital Vital Brazil (HVB), Butantan Institute, São Paulo, Brazil, between 1959 and 2008. Only cases in which the causative animal was brought and identified were included. Part of the snakes brought by the patients was still preserved in the collection maintained by the Laboratory of Herpetology.