Snakebite and local envenomation by Boiruna maculata treated without antivenom

Shou Terashige; Takashi Nishiyama; Shigeto Takeshima; Kosuke Hatanaka; Takao Sugiura; Ruka Sasa; Daishi Higashiyama; Fumika Tanaka

doi:10.1002/ams2.674

Snakebite and local envenomation by Boiruna maculata treated without antivenom

Acute Med Surg. 2021 Jul 18;8(1):e674. doi: 10.1002/ams2.674. eCollection 2021 Jan-Dec.

Authors

Shou Terashige^{1

2}, Takashi Nishiyama¹, Shigeto Takeshima¹, Kosuke Hatanaka¹, Takao Sugiura¹, Ruka Sasa¹, Daishi Higashiyama¹, Fumika Tanaka¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Emergency Medicine Self-Defense Forces Central Hospital Tokyo Japan.
² Department of Traumatology and Critical Care Medicine National Defense Medical College Tokorozawa Japan.

Abstract

Background: When snake breeders are bitten by rare snakes, deciding whether to administer snake antivenom can be challenging.

Case presentation: A 50-year-old man was bitten on the right finger by Boiruna maculata. The next day, his right upper limb exhibited pronounced local manifestations of envenomation. At the first consultation, a dark purple bleeding spot and a necrotic site were present under the fang marks at the bitten finger and his affected limb showed extensive swelling and redness. Snake antivenom was not administered because it was difficult to identify the snake and obtain the antivenom. We performed the pressure immobilization technique to his limb. The patient's symptoms peaked in severity on the second day of illness. He was discharged with marked improvement.

Conclusions: We have experienced a case of snakebite envenomation by Boiruna maculata.

Keywords: Antivenoms; envenomation; first aid; mussurana; snake bites.

Publication types

Case Reports