A clinical score predicting the need for hospitalization in scorpion envenomation.

OBJECTIVE

Predicting complications is a clinical challenge in the assessment of victims of scorpion envenomation (SE). We sought to develop a clinical score to predict need for hospitalization after scorpion sting.

METHODS

We prospectively collected data in patients attending the emergency department after SE in derivation (n = 868) and validation groups (n = 435). A score was derived from a multiple regression analyses using clinical variables as dependent variables and hospitalization as independent variable.

RESULTS

Discrimination power of the constructed score was good (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, 0.85 and 0.83 in derivation and validation group, respectively). Goodness-of-fit tests indicated that the score performed well in the derivation and the validation groups (P = .88 and P = .67 respectively). The score has a good sensitivity and negative predictive value at cutoff value of 2.

CONCLUSION

Our clinical score could be used for efficient hospital admission decision in patient's victims of SE.