Scorpion sting is a major health problem in many underdeveloped tropical countries. For every person killed by a poisonous snake, 10 are killed by poisonous scorpion and can cause wide range of conditions form severe local reactions to neurologic, respiratory and cardiovascular collapse. Scorpion envenomation presents with increased systemic vascular resistance and hypertension, but in cases of severe envenomation it may present with hypotension and pulmonary oedema. The venom is composed of varying concentrations of neurotoxin, cardiotoxin, nephrotoxin, hemolytic toxin, phosphodiesterases, phospholipases, hyaluronidases, glycosaminoglycans, histamine, serotonin, tryptophan, and cytokine releasers. When these medically important scorpions sting a human, symptoms of the sting start immediately; local symptoms often include pain and blistering. Within the first couple of hours, the massive release of neurotransmitters results in sweating, nausea and vomiting. Cardiovascular symptoms, such as hypertension and tachycardia, often follow, and the pulmonary system is affected in parallel. The major causes of death are cardiovascular failure and pulmonary edema.
The study attempted to recommend some preventive measures to help in minimizing the occurrence of scorpion stings among people.
The present study was carried out at Kalubia Hospitals; data collected from Kalubia Director of Health Affair showed persons exposed to scorpion stings during the period starting from the beginning of January 2005 until the end of December 2009 including 257 patients. It shows the personal, demographic, social aspect as (age, sex, residence, occupation) and medical aspect as (clinical manifestations, treatment and outcome) of the persons exposed to scorpion stings in Kalubia Governorate.
Males exceed females in this study as (61.5%) were males and (38.5%) were females.
The present study showed that, the highest group affected by stings was the group aged from 21-40 years with (50.6%) with mean age (30± 14.51year).
Moreover, the patients treated in Benha Fever Hospital was (44.4%), (94.7%) of them were residing in rural areas and (5.3%) patients were from urban areas.
According to occupation, (58%) were available and show that the most affected group was house wife (28.9%).
According to seasonal distribution of cases, the current study revealed that the scorpion stings were predominant in the summer months with (42.4%).
The most common local manifestation was pain, redness, swelling and tenderness 42% while the most common cardiovascular manifestation was hypertention 66% .Anxiety was the most common central nervous system manefestation 73.4% while nausea and vomiting was the most common gastrointestinal manifestation 65%.
As regard treatment, most of the patients treated with antihystaminic, analgesic, antivenin 43.3%.
According to the outcome, most of the patients 91.6% were fully recovered, and 8.4% of patients were with unknown outcome and no deaths are reported.
As a result, people living in the regions where most scorpion stings were seen must be educated and informed about scorpions and their stings. Not all scorpion sting cases from the community report to the health care facilities leading to underestimation of the problem size. Similarly, scorpion envenomations may not be notified to the Preventive Medicine Department. These factors need to be identified and investigated through additional epidemiological studies. In spite of the above-mentioned limitations, this study will help in developing interventions to prevent scorpion stings, which should take into consideration local epidemiological features. This information can also be used to identify those population groups most in need of education regarding the prevention and treatment of scorpion stings. Furthermore, these findings will be beneficial in educating health care workers as well as allocation and utilization of health care resources. Finally, the present study was an attempt to study scorpion envenomation in Kalubia Governorate and hoped that this effort will stimulate further intensive work of medical and social value.
All the previously mentioned results of the present study were discussed and compared with other results in previous studies.
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