Background: Scorpion stings are a significant public health issue in many underdeveloped tropical and subtropical countries. The aim of this study was to review the demographics of scorpion stings in Riyadh region, the current practice of management, the utility of the laboratory investigations, and their effect on hospitalizations, length of stay in the emergency department (ED), and return visits.
Methods: This is a retrospective observational descriptive chart review study. Data were collected from the electronic health system (BEST Care2.0A.Ink) during January 2016-April 2019. We included all adult patients (>14 years old) who presented to King Abdul-Aziz Medical City (KAMC) complaining of clinical manifestations of scorpion envenomation.
Results: We collected 286 patients; the mean age was 34.5 (±13.8). Male patients represented 85.66% of the sample. All the patients presented with either Grade 1 (83.6%) or Grade 2 (16.4%) envenomation severity, and all of them had different pain control interventions. Antivenom was given to only one patient unnecessarily. Overall, the mean ED length of stay by hours was 2.7 (±1.6). Only 33.22% of the patients had obtained laboratory
investigations that were normal or clinically insignificant. There was a significant increase in the ED length of stay between the patients who did and those who did not obtain laboratory investigations (3.9 ± 1.5 vs. 2.1 ± 1.3 hours; p-value = 0.0001).
Conclusion: The study redemonstrates the predominance of weak scorpion envenomation in Riyadh region. We observed that patients with Grades 1 and 2 envenomation could be managed safely without ordering laboratory investigation or using antivenom therapy.
Key words: Scorpion envenomations, scorpion sting, Riyadh, antivenom
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