Objective: This study assessed the risk factors for sustaining a snake bite, the prehospital measures employed, and the clinical needs of patients admitted with confirmed envenomation.
Methodology: Data was collected at a single center, a rural secondary care hospital in Trinidad and Tobago. A cross-sectional method was used that enrolled all consenting patients requiring admission following clinical confirmation of snake envenomation during the period 2017-2019. Data collection involved a review of the patient record from the emergency room and hospital admission to establish the clinical need during the time of admission which was defined as the administration of medication, need for surgery, and critical care intervention. Data collection also involved a patient interview to establish demographics, prehospital measures employed, and assessment of the risk factors associated with sustaining the snake bite.
Results: 29 patients were admitted for snakebite envenomation during 2017-2019 and all patients consented to enrolment. Of these patients, 22 were male and most commonly were within the age range of 18-40 years old. 34.5% of patients were farmers and 68.9% of patients identified being bitten by the Mapepire Balsain snake. 65.5% of patients reported being unaware of the risk of snake bites and 82.8% were not wearing boots, with the lower limb being the most common bite site among 55.2%. 41.4% of bites were sustained during work-related activity while 34.5% of bites were sustained during recreational activity. Prehospital measures were employed by 18 of the 29 patients with the most common types being irrigation (10.3%), cutting (6.9%), tourniquets (44.8%), pressure immobilization (6.9%), topical applications (3.4%), and ingestion of a substance (6.9%). 34.5% received hospital care within 1 hour of the bite while 55.2% arrived at the hospital between 1 and 4 hours of being bitten. The clinical challenges of these patients included local reactions (82.8%), coagulopathy (72.4%), compartment syndrome (17.2%), cellulitis (3.4%), and dislocated shoulder (3.4%). The clinical needs of these patients included vitamin K (13.8%), antibiotics (93.1%), tetanus shots (17.2%), analgesia (6.8%), and anti-venom (82.7%). 10.3% of patients required debridement and 3.4% required a fasciotomy. The average stay in the hospital was 3.8 days. There were no documents of deaths or need for critical care.
Conclusion: Persons are most likely to be envenomated by the M. Balsain in Trinidad. These patients are commonly males ranging anywhere from 18 to 40 years presenting local reactions and coagulopathy needing admittance to the hospital. While the majority of patients requiring admission performed some type of prehospital measure, very few did so with pressure immobilization. Furthermore, the majority of patients had a prolonged time before presenting to the hospital; this is a potential area for improvement in the health system through education and sensitization. There was a significant utilization of resources on these patients when taking into consideration their clinical needs, medication, and hospital stay; primary prevention should be a focus through the education of groups who are at higher risk for a venomous snake encounter.
Keywords: envenomation; farmers; occupational hazards; pre-hospital; snake-bite.
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