Citation

Baykan AO, Gür M, Acele A, Şeker T, Çaylı M. Turk. Kardiyol. Dern. Ars. 2016; 44(1): 82-86.

Affiliation

Department of Cardiology, Dicle University Faculty of Medicine, Diyarbakır, Turkey.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Türk Kardiyoloji Derneği)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

26875137

Abstract

The occurrence of a serious cardiac emergency following scorpion envenomation has rarely been reported and, when so, mostly presented as non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction, cardiogenic shock, or myocarditis. Possible mechanisms include imbalance in blood pressure and coronary vasospasm caused by the combination of sympathetic excitation, scorpion venom-induced release of catecholamines, and the direct effect of the toxin on the myocardium. We report a case of a 55-year-old man who presented with acute inferior wall myocardial infarction (MI) within 2 h of being stung by a scorpion. Coronary angiogram revealed total thrombotic occlusion of the left circumflex artery, which was treated successfully with glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitor, thrombus aspiration, antivenom serum, and supportive therapy. Therefore, life-threatening MI can complicate the clinical course during some types of scorpion envenomation and should be managed as an acute coronary syndrome.

Language: en