Clinico-Epidemiological Study Done at a Tertiary Care Centre in Western Ghats of South India and Outcome of Snakebite Cases

Background & Objectives: Snakebite is a neglected public health problem in tropical and sub-tropical geographical zones. Management of snakebites require through examination, careful monitoring of vitals and assessment of envenomation. The epidemiological and clinical management data will provide an insight on the critical management issues and varied presentation.

Methods: A retrospective observation study was conducted at Shripad Hegde Kadave Institute of Medical Sciences, Sirsi, Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka. Patients admitted to the hospital during the period from January 2019 to August 2022 were included for the study.

Results: The data from a total of 78 participants was included for the analysis. The mean age was 38.56±17.28 years. Of the participants, 50 (64.10%) were male and 43 (52.12%) farmers by occupation. Majority of cases had haematotoxic symptoms (42.2%) followed by myotoxicity (33.3%). Predominant neurotoxicity was seen in only 2 (2.56%) of patients. 57 (73%) of participants had elevated INR ratio. Sixty-seven (85.9%) participants were medically managed and 10 (12.82%) required surgical intervention. Three (18.75%) participants had acute kidney injury. With respect to the final outcome, 71(91%) of participants were discharged after recovery.

Interpretation and Conclusion: This study provided the vital insight on clinical presentation and management of snakebite in Western Ghats of South India. Snakebite majorly affected male and middle-aged people. Farmers were most affected and bites occurred more during monsoon season. Due to variation in local distribution of species of snakes’ predominantly higher variants of vipers (lower number of krait and cobra) haematotoxic symptoms and signs were the major clinical presentation.