Assessment of pit viper associated subclinical myocardial injury by speckle tracking imaging.

In post-snakebite patient care, cardiac function is chiefly monitored through Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction (LVEF) via traditional echocardiography. This approach fails to detect early systolic dysfunction sensitively, which is key for managing envenomation-induced myocardial damage and impacts treatment and prognosis. In a study of 37 snakebite patients, individuals were grouped by severity using the Snakebite Severity Scale (SSS). Correlations between serological markers and two-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography (2D-STE) strain parameters were analyzed, with ROC curves assessing the diagnostic effectiveness for myocardial injury. After a venomous snakebite, the study found a significant decrease in the left ventricular endocardial global longitudinal strain (GLSendo) compared to the middle and epicardium layer (p < 0.01). The circumferential strain of the apical segment (ACS) was also lower in the affected group than in the control group (p < 0.05), with more severe envenomation associated with a great reduction in both GLSendo and the ACS (p < 0.01). The sensitivity of GLSendo for diagnosing myocardial injury due to venomous snakebite was 0.935, with the cut-off was 18.7%. The finding underscores the importance of using GLSendo as part of the standard echocardiographic assessment in patient. By providing early insight into the extent of myocardial injury and informed decisions regarding treatment and patient management.