Citation

Stack K, Pryor L. Wilderness Environ. Med. 2016; 27(3): 405-408.

Affiliation

Department of Emergency Medicine, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY. Electronic address: pryorl@upstate.edu.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.wem.2016.05.005

PMID

27427329

Abstract

Bees and wasps of the Hymenoptera order are encountered on a daily basis throughout the world. Some encounters prove harmless, while others can have significant morbidity and mortality. Hymenoptera venom is thought to contain an enzyme that can cleave phospholipids and cause significant coagulation abnormalities. This toxin and others can lead to reactions ranging from local inflammation to anaphylaxis. We report a single case of a previously healthy man who presented to the emergency department with altered mental status and anaphylaxis after a massive honeybee envenomation that caused a fall from standing resulting in significant head injury. He was found to have significant coagulopathy and subdural bleeding that progressed to near brain herniation requiring emergent decompression. Trauma can easily occur to individuals escaping swarms of hymenoptera. Closer attention must be paid to potential bleeding sources in these patients and in patients with massive bee envenomation.

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

Language: en