Efficacy and Safety of Anti Snake Venom, used as per National Guidelines, at a Tertiary Care Centre in Puducherry
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37506/ijphrd.v11i11.11376Keywords:
Anti-snake venom serum, Pharmacovigilance, envenomation, hemotoxic, neurotoxic, national snake bite guidelinesAbstract
Aim: To study the efficacy and adverse events after use of Anti Snake Venom (ASV) and note its usage
pattern
Methods: This prospective observational study included 97 cases of snake bite admitted to Indira Gandhi
Government General Hospital and Postgraduate Institute, Poducherry from June 2016 to December 2017.
Adverse reactions to ASV and clinical response parameters like number of vials of ASV needed, time to
response, hospital stay were analysed
Results: Of the 97 cases enrolled and 96 analysable, 59 cases had hemotoxic , 12 neurotoxic, 9 a combination
of both and 16 had local envenomation, The mean number of vials used( 25.92 +/-12.97), time to control
envenomation( 35.48+/- 22.03 hours) and duration of hospital stay ( 5.79 +/-4.89 days) was not significantly
different for any particular type of envenomation
16 patients suffered 49 adverse events, 34 being mild, 10 moderate and 5 severe. The symptom cluster of
itching, urticaria, was the most common, seen in 9 patients. This was accompanied by a permutation of
tachycardia with colic, vomiting, nausea and diarrhoea. Most were managed by giving an additional dose of
hydrocortisone or antihistamine or both. None had to be administered adrenaline.
Conclusions: The ASV brand used, was well tolerated, and the number of adverse events were less than
those reported in earlier studies. Authors conclude that the National Guidelines are applicable in majority of
the cases but due consideration must be given to the clinician’s judgement in individual cases