Freire-Maia L, Campos J A, Amaral C F
Departamento de Farmacologia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
Toxicon. 1994 Sep;32(9):1009-14. doi: 10.1016/0041-0101(94)90382-4.
A total of 3866 patients stung by Tityus serrulatus scorpion was admitted to Hospital João XXIII, in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, over a 16-year period (an average of 241 cases per year). Of these, 73% were adults and 27% were children aged less than 14 years. The moderate or benign cases were treated with symptomatic measures and/or i.v. antivenom, whereas 168 severely envenomed children were treated in the Intensive Care Unit. Lung oedema was unilateral in several cases, with the presence of air bronchograms and a peripheral distribution, suggesting that a noncardiogenic factor is also involved in the genesis of lung oedema. The treatment consisted of symptomatic measures, support of vital functions and i.v. antivenom. The mortality was 1% among children and 0.28% for the total number of patients.
