Elapidae (Coral Snakes): Difference between revisions
No edit summary |
|||
| Line 6: | Line 6: | ||
==Clinical Features== | ==Clinical Features== | ||
*Local injury is often minimal | |||
*Venom effects may develop hours after a bite | |||
==Differential Diagnosis== | ==Differential Diagnosis== | ||
| Line 14: | Line 14: | ||
==Treatment== | ==Treatment== | ||
#Antivenom | #Antivenom | ||
# | #*Give 3-5 vials of Antivenin to ALL pts who have definitely been bitten | ||
# | #**It may not be possible to prevent further effects or reverse effects once they develop | ||
# | #**Additional doses of antivenom are reserved for cases in which symptoms/signs appear | ||
#Monitor for respiratory respiratory failure | #Monitor for respiratory respiratory failure | ||
Revision as of 01:18, 12 March 2015
Background
- All coral snakes are brightly colored with black, red, and yellow rings
- Red and yellow rings touch in coral snakes, but are separated in nonpoisonous mimics
- "Red touch yellow, kills a fellow; red touch black, venom lack"
- Red and yellow rings touch in coral snakes, but are separated in nonpoisonous mimics
Clinical Features
- Local injury is often minimal
- Venom effects may develop hours after a bite
Differential Diagnosis
Envenomations, bites and stings
- Hymenoptera stings (bees, wasps, ants)
- Mammalian bites
- Closed fist infection (Fight bite)
- Dog bite
- Marine toxins and envenomations
- Toxins (ciguatera, neurotoxic shellfish poisoning, paralytic shellfish poisoning, scombroid, tetrodotoxin
- Stingers (stingray injury)
- Venomous fish (catfish, zebrafish, scorpion fish, stonefish, cone shells, lionfish, sea urchins)
- Nematocysts (coral reef, fire coral, box jellyfish, sea wasp, portuguese man-of-war, sea anemones)
- Phylum porifera (sponges)
- Bites (alligator/crocodile, octopus, shark)
- Scorpion envenomation
- Reptile envenomation
- Spider bites
Treatment
- Antivenom
- Give 3-5 vials of Antivenin to ALL pts who have definitely been bitten
- It may not be possible to prevent further effects or reverse effects once they develop
- Additional doses of antivenom are reserved for cases in which symptoms/signs appear
- Give 3-5 vials of Antivenin to ALL pts who have definitely been bitten
- Monitor for respiratory respiratory failure
Disposition
- Admit all pts (even if initially symptom free)
Source
Tintinalli