Accessibility navigation


Rapid identification of bilateral adrenal and pituitary haemorrhages induced by Russell's viper envenomation results in positive patient outcome

Senthilkumaran, S., Almeida, J. R., Williams, J., Williams, H. F., Thirumalaikolundusubramanian, P., Patel, K. and Vaiyapuri, S. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6006-6517 (2023) Rapid identification of bilateral adrenal and pituitary haemorrhages induced by Russell's viper envenomation results in positive patient outcome. Toxicon, 225. 107068. ISSN 0041-0101

[img]
Preview
Text (Open Access) - Published Version
· Available under License Creative Commons Attribution.
· Please see our End User Agreement before downloading.

2MB
[img] Text - Accepted Version
· Restricted to Repository staff only

4MB

It is advisable to refer to the publisher's version if you intend to cite from this work. See Guidance on citing.

To link to this item DOI: 10.1016/j.toxicon.2023.107068

Abstract/Summary

The clinical management of snakebite envenomation (SBE) is challenging in many tropical and subtropical regions of developing countries due to the complex clinical manifestations and inadequate medical infrastructure. Some venomous snakes, such as the Indian Russell's viper (Daboia russelii) cause a wide range of rare complications in addition to their classical envenomation effects. In general, these uncommon complications are often misdiagnosed or not treated promptly due to a lack of awareness about these conditions. Thus, it is critical to report such complications to draw the attention of the healthcare and research communities to improve the clinical management and scientific research of SBE, respectively. Here, we report bilateral adrenal and pituitary haemorrhages in an SBE patient following a bite by Russell’s viper in India. The initial symptoms included gum bleeding, swelling, axillary lymphadenopathy and clotting abnormality. Despite the administration of antivenom, the patient presented palpitation, nausea, and abdominal pain, which were not recovered by combinational therapy with epinephrine and dexamethasone. Further infusion of antivenom did not address these issues and the patient displayed persistent hypotension, hypoglycaemia and hyperkalaemia suggesting an adrenal crisis. Inadequate secretion of corticosteroids was confirmed by laboratory tests, and imaging investigations revealed haemorrhages in both the adrenal and pituitary glands. The patient made a full recovery after treatment with hydrocortisone and thyroxine. This report adds to the growing evidence of rare complications induced by Russell's viper envenomations and it provides relevant guidance to diagnose and treat such complications in SBE victims.

Item Type:Article
Refereed:Yes
Divisions:Life Sciences > School of Biological Sciences > Biomedical Sciences
Life Sciences > School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy > School of Pharmacy > Division of Pharmacology
ID Code:110939
Publisher:Elsevier

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

University Staff: Request a correction | Centaur Editors: Update this record

Page navigation