SURVEY ON PATTERN OF SNAKE BITE CASES ADMITTED IN SOUTH INDIAN TERTIARY CARE HOSPITALS

Background: Snake bite is a problem across the developing countries, where agriculture is one of the main sources of income and India is one among it. Objective: The study was carried out to determine the pattern of snake bite in four different selected tertiary care hospitals of south India for a period of 03 years from March 2011 to March 2014. Material and Methods: A prospective observational study of 270 patients of snake bite was collected in patients admitted to emergency department in four different selected tertiary care hospitals in south India. Patients with history of previous visit for treatment before admitting into the study sites were excluded from the study. Results: There were 201 males [74.4%] and 69 females [25.5%] out of 270 snakebite patients in our study. Of that, 142 [52.6%] patients were between the age group of 30-50 years. Most of the cases were farmers [56.66%] and Laborers [32.96%]. Peak incidence of snake bite was observed during rainy season [68.8%].  Most of the envenomation had reported between 6pm to 6am [64.44%]. Bite was most commonly seen in the lower extremities [65.17%], with local pain and cellulites being common complication. About 52.22% of patients required 11-20 vials of ASV during the treatment. Recovery rate was 84.44% with 10% mortality during our study period. Conclusion:  Snake bite is one among the most neglected public health problem in developing countries. Researchers should always look at decreasing the morbidity and mortality, in turn improving the quality of life of the patient.