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Case Reports
. 2015 Apr;19(4):233-6.
doi: 10.4103/0972-5229.154570.

Scorpion bite, a sting to the heart!

Avinash Agrawal  1 , Anand Kumar  1 , Shuchi Consul  2 , Ambuj Yadav  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

Scorpion bite, a sting to the heart!

Avinash Agrawal et al. Indian J Crit Care Med. 2015 Apr.

Abstract

Scorpion bites are common in India. Usually, these bites are harmless but sometimes have serious clinical sequelae, including death. We report herein a case of scorpion bite with electrocardiographic abnormalities simulating early myocardial infarction. Pulmonary edema and congestive heart failure accompanied these electrocardiographic changes as well as serum cardiac markers. The etiology of cardiovascular manifestations in severe scorpion sting is related to venom effect on sympathetic nervous system and the adrenal secretion of catecholamines as well as to the toxic effect of the venom on the myocardium itself. It is a rare case of scorpion sting presented as myocardial infarction and heart failure, successfully treated with Intensive Care Unit care, noninvasive ventilation, vasopressors, and antiischemic treatment.

Keywords: Heart failure; myocardial infarction; scorpion bite.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(a) Electrocardiogram (ECG) of the patient on the day of admission showing secondary ST- T changes and tachycardia, (B) ECG of the patient on day 5th showing T wave inversion in lead I and aVL
Figure 2
Figure 2
X-ray of the patient showing bilateral infiltrates suggested of pulmonary edema (a). X-ray of the patient on day 3 showing bilateral infiltrates suggested of pulmonary edema (b). X-ray of the patient on day 5th showing no infiltrates
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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