Citation

Cupo P, Jurca M, Azeedo-Marques MM, Oliveira JS, Hering SE. Rev. Inst. Med. Trop. Sao Paulo 1994; 36(1): 67-76.

Affiliation

Depto. de Puericultura e Pediatria da Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto da Universidade de São Paulo (FMRP-USP), Brasil.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1994, Instituto de Medicina Tropical de Sao Paulo)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

7997776

Abstract

Scorpion stings in Brazil are important not only because of their incidence but also for their potential ability to induce severe, and often fatal, clinical situations, especially among children. In this report we present the clinical and laboratory data of 4 patients victims of scorpion stings by T. serrulatus, who developed heart failure and pulmonary edema, with 3 of them dying within 24 hours of the sting. Anatomopathologic study of these patients revealed diffuse areas of myocardiocytolysis in addition to pulmonary edema. The surviving child presented enzymatic, electrocardiographic and echocardiographic changes compatible with severe cardiac involvement, which were reversed within 5 days. These findings reinforce the need for continuous monitoring of patients with severe scorpion envenoming during the hours immediately following the sting.

Language: en