A five-year retrospective review of snakebite patients admitted to a tertiary university hospital in Malaysia.
BACKGROUND Although the majority of the snakebite cases in Malaysia are due to non-venomous snakes, venomous bites cause significant morbidity and mortality if treatment measures, especially ant-venom therapy, are delayed. METHODS To determine the demographic characteristics, we conducted a...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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2011
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| Online Access: | http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/11666/ http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/11666/1/IJEM%20Snake%20Bites.pdf |
| _version_ | 1848837052837134336 |
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| author | Chew, Keng Sheng Khor, Heng Wei Ahmad, Rashidi Rahman, Nik Hisamuddin Nik Abdul |
| author_facet | Chew, Keng Sheng Khor, Heng Wei Ahmad, Rashidi Rahman, Nik Hisamuddin Nik Abdul |
| author_sort | Chew, Keng Sheng |
| building | UNIMAS Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | BACKGROUND
Although the majority of the snakebite cases in Malaysia are due to non-venomous snakes, venomous bites cause significant morbidity and mortality if treatment measures, especially ant-venom therapy, are delayed.
METHODS
To determine the demographic characteristics, we conducted a retrospective study on all snakebite patients admitted to the Emergency Department of Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (HUSM) from January 2006 to December 2010.
RESULTS
In the majority of the 260 cases that we found (138 cases or 52.9%), the snake species was unidentified. The most common venomous snakebites among the identified species were caused by cobras (52 cases or 20%). Cobra bites are significantly more likely to result in severe envenomation compared to non-cobra bites. Post hoc analysis also showed that cobra bite patients are significantly less likely to have complete recovery than non-cobra bite patients (48 cases, 75.0% vs. 53 cases, 94.6%; p = 0.003) and more likely to result in local gangrene (11 cases, 17.2% vs. 3 cases, 5.4%; p = 0.044).
CONCLUSION
Cobra bites are significantly more likely to result in severe envenomation needing anti-venom administration and more likely to result in local gangrene, and the patients are significantly less likely to have complete recovery than those with non-cobra bites. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-15T06:33:32Z |
| format | Article |
| id | unimas-11666 |
| institution | Universiti Malaysia Sarawak |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-15T06:33:32Z |
| publishDate | 2011 |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | unimas-116662016-04-25T07:49:00Z http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/11666/ A five-year retrospective review of snakebite patients admitted to a tertiary university hospital in Malaysia. Chew, Keng Sheng Khor, Heng Wei Ahmad, Rashidi Rahman, Nik Hisamuddin Nik Abdul R Medicine (General) RZ Other systems of medicine BACKGROUND Although the majority of the snakebite cases in Malaysia are due to non-venomous snakes, venomous bites cause significant morbidity and mortality if treatment measures, especially ant-venom therapy, are delayed. METHODS To determine the demographic characteristics, we conducted a retrospective study on all snakebite patients admitted to the Emergency Department of Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (HUSM) from January 2006 to December 2010. RESULTS In the majority of the 260 cases that we found (138 cases or 52.9%), the snake species was unidentified. The most common venomous snakebites among the identified species were caused by cobras (52 cases or 20%). Cobra bites are significantly more likely to result in severe envenomation compared to non-cobra bites. Post hoc analysis also showed that cobra bite patients are significantly less likely to have complete recovery than non-cobra bite patients (48 cases, 75.0% vs. 53 cases, 94.6%; p = 0.003) and more likely to result in local gangrene (11 cases, 17.2% vs. 3 cases, 5.4%; p = 0.044). CONCLUSION Cobra bites are significantly more likely to result in severe envenomation needing anti-venom administration and more likely to result in local gangrene, and the patients are significantly less likely to have complete recovery than those with non-cobra bites. 2011 Article PeerReviewed text en http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/11666/1/IJEM%20Snake%20Bites.pdf Chew, Keng Sheng and Khor, Heng Wei and Ahmad, Rashidi and Rahman, Nik Hisamuddin Nik Abdul (2011) A five-year retrospective review of snakebite patients admitted to a tertiary university hospital in Malaysia. International journal of emergency medicine, 4. p. 41. ISSN 1865-1380 http://intjem.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/1865-1380-4-41 10.1186/1865-1380-4-41 |
| spellingShingle | R Medicine (General) RZ Other systems of medicine Chew, Keng Sheng Khor, Heng Wei Ahmad, Rashidi Rahman, Nik Hisamuddin Nik Abdul A five-year retrospective review of snakebite patients admitted to a tertiary university hospital in Malaysia. |
| title | A five-year retrospective review of snakebite patients admitted to a tertiary university hospital in Malaysia. |
| title_full | A five-year retrospective review of snakebite patients admitted to a tertiary university hospital in Malaysia. |
| title_fullStr | A five-year retrospective review of snakebite patients admitted to a tertiary university hospital in Malaysia. |
| title_full_unstemmed | A five-year retrospective review of snakebite patients admitted to a tertiary university hospital in Malaysia. |
| title_short | A five-year retrospective review of snakebite patients admitted to a tertiary university hospital in Malaysia. |
| title_sort | five-year retrospective review of snakebite patients admitted to a tertiary university hospital in malaysia. |
| topic | R Medicine (General) RZ Other systems of medicine |
| url | http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/11666/ http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/11666/ http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/11666/ http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/11666/1/IJEM%20Snake%20Bites.pdf |