Citation

Ducey SD, Cooper JS, Wadman MC. Wilderness Environ. Med. 2016; 27(2): 291-293.

Affiliation

Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.wem.2016.02.009

PMID

27161437

Abstract

Komodo dragons (Varanus komodoensis) are large lizards known to take down prey even larger than themselves. They rarely attack humans. A 38-year-old woman was bitten by a Komodo dragon on her hand while cleaning its enclosure. She was transiently hypotensive. The wounds were extensively cleaned, and she was started on prophylactic antibiotics. Her wounds healed without any infectious sequelae. Komodo dragon bites are historically thought to be highly infectious and venomous. Based on a literature review, neither of these are likely true. As in any bite, initial stabilization followed by wound management are the main components to therapy.

Copyright © 2016 Wilderness Medical Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Language: en