Utilization of aspirin, quinine and verapamil in the prevention and treatment of scorpion venom intoxication.

Aside from serotherapy, the treatment of scorpion venom intoxication is symptomatic. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of drugs usually used in scorpion venom intoxications (atropine, propranolol) to that of other compounds, chosen in light of the pathophysiology of scorpion venom intoxication: dipyridamole, doxapram, quinine formate, lysine-acetyl-salicylate, valproate and verapamil. Using mice, the parameters evaluated were the preventive and therapeutic effects of drugs during experimental venom intoxication by Androctonus australis Hector and one of its toxins AaH 1, and by Buthus occitanus and Tityus serrulatus tunetanus on the other hand. It was found that although most of the drugs used could prolong the survival of the animals, the administration of verapamil and more so that of aspirin or quinine formate led to a 50 to 100% loss of venom and toxin toxicity, depending on the drug and the origin of the venom. In the case of propranolol, doxapram, atropine, dipyridamole and valproate, no or little protection were observed. If these results are confirmed in humans, the systematic use of these drugs could be a simple means for treating scorpion venom intoxication. The problem of scorpion venom intoxication poses a health problem both in the North African Maghreb and in the Americas. As a result of considerable information campaigns, the number of scorpion venom intoxications in Tunisia has dropped from 3000 in 1967 to 1000 per year in the 1980s. Serotherapy has reduced mortality to 0.35%, most deaths occurring in underweight children. In light of the large number of countries in which there is a risk of scorpion venom intoxication in the summertime, however, its prevention and treatment remain a major problem.