Prague Med. Rep. 2015, 116, 155-160
Envenoming by Crotalid Snake Chinese Moccasin Agkistrodon Acutus Bite – A Case Report
Although the bites caused by snakes from former Agkistrodon family in the areas of occurrence are not rare and even have certain epidemiologic importance, in case of envenoming by Deinagkistrodon acutus the clinical studies and case reports are very sporadic. This case report describes the envenoming of a private snake breeder bitten by young Chinese moccasin Deinagkistrodon acutus to the thumb of his left hand. He sought for a medical help immediately after snakebite. Patient presented with a local oedema on the affected limb, extending up to the half of the forearm. Laboratory examinations showed serious haemostatic disturbance with defibrination syndrome, immeasurably prolonged clotting times and extreme elevation of D-dimers. No other obvious clinical symptoms were present. Fibrinogen and fresh frozen plasma were administered because the antivenom was not available immediately. The specific antivenom was urgently imported 22 hours after the bite and administered at a dose of two vials three times until laboratory haemocoagulation parameters returned back to physiological values.
Keywords
Snakebite, Agkistrodon acutus, Chinese moccasin, Envenoming, Afibrinogenemia.
Funding
The authors thank to doctors Ondrej Kopecky, Michal Porizka, Jan Rulisek, Robert Sachl, Barbora Simanovska, Mykhailo Zakharchenko, for their cooperation during patient treatment.
References
Copyright
Published by the Karolinum Press. For permission to use please write to medical.report@lf1.cuni.cz.
