A study of the current knowledge base in treating snake bite amongst doctors in the high-risk countries of India and Pakistan: does snake bite treatment training reflect local requirements?
- 1 November 2008
- journal article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
- Vol. 102 (11), 1108-1114
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trstmh.2008.04.013
Abstract
The call for greater production of better quality anti-snake venom (ASV) is a major thrust in the effort to reduce snake bite mortality. However, snake bite mortality has many causes and these should also be addressed. A key feature of efficient ASV usage is ensuring that doctors are trained to administer ASV only when it is required and in amounts that are necessary to neutralize venom. The need for better snake bite management training has been referred to, but little attention has been paid to how effectively medical education actually prepares doctors to treat snake bite. The objective of this study is to evaluate the current level of knowledge amongst doctors in India and Pakistan, two countries with the highest snake bite mortality in absolute terms. Results show that the use of current textbooks and medical education do not adequately prepare doctors to treat snake bite, particularly in the areas of use of ASV, dealing with adverse reactions to ASV and specific measures to deal with neurotoxic bites. The central conclusion of the paper is that local protocols and training are required to adequately prepare doctors to improve treatment and reduce mortality.Keywords
This publication has 16 references indexed in Scilit:
- Trends in Fatal Snakebites in Venezuela, 1995–2002Wilderness & Environmental Medicine, 2007
- Rediscovery of Severe Saw-Scaled Viper (Echis sochureki) Envenoming in the Thar Desert Region of Rajasthan, IndiaWilderness & Environmental Medicine, 2007
- First authenticated cases of life-threatening envenoming by the hump-nosed pit viper (Hypnale hypnale) in IndiaTransactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 2007
- Confronting the Neglected Problem of Snake Bite Envenoming: The Need for a Global PartnershipPLoS Medicine, 2006
- Adrenaline in the treatment of anaphylaxis: what is the evidence?BMJ, 2003
- Snakebite and antivenoms in the Asia‐Pacific: wokabaut wantaim, raka hebou (“walking together”)The Medical Journal of Australia, 2001
- Fatal and Near-Fatal Anaphylactic Reactions to Food in Children and AdolescentsNew England Journal of Medicine, 1992
- Geographical variation in India in the composition and lethal potency of Russell's viper (Vipera russelli) venomToxicon, 1988
- Prediction, prevention, and mechanism of early (anaphylactic) antivenom reactions in victims of snake bites.BMJ, 1986
- Russell's viper venom levels in serum of snake bite victims in BurmaTransactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 1984