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. 2016 Dec;12(4):365-369.
doi: 10.1007/s13181-016-0555-7. Epub 2016 May 27.

Occupational Snake Bites: a Prospective Case Series of Patients Reported to the ToxIC North American Snakebite Registry

Meghan B Spyres  1 , Anne-Michelle Ruha  2 , Steven Seifert  3 , Nancy Onisko  4 , Angela Padilla-Jones  2 , Eric Anthony Smith  4
Affiliations

Occupational Snake Bites: a Prospective Case Series of Patients Reported to the ToxIC North American Snakebite Registry

Meghan B Spyres et al. J Med Toxicol. 2016 Dec.

Abstract

Introduction: In the developing world, occupation has been identified as a risk factor for snake bite. Such an association has not been described in the USA. The objective of this study was to describe the epidemiology and clinical manifestations of occupational snake bite in patients reported to the ToxIC North American Snakebite Registry (NASBR).

Methods: This was a prospective case series of patients reported to the ToxIC NASBR between January 1, 2014 and November 5, 2015. Variables collected included snake species, patient demographics, date and location of exposure, occupation, bite location, clinical manifestations, and management.

Results: Of 180 adult snake bites reported, 25 (13.9 %; 95 % CI 9.2-19.8 %) were occupational in nature. Rattlesnake envenomations were common (80 %). Most snake bites (96 %) occurred in men. Occupations most associated with snake bite were landscaping (28 %) and working directly with snakes (24 %). Fifty-six percent of bites occurred in an outdoor work environment. Seventy-six percent of envenomations were to the upper extremities. Intentional interaction occurred in 40 % of cases, all of which sustained finger envenomations. No cases presented with apparent acute ethanol intoxication.

Conclusions: The majority of occupational snake bites occurred in men working outdoors and were unintentional injuries. Bites involving the upper extremity tended to result from intentional interactions. Acute ethanol intoxication did not appear to be involved with occupational envenomations.

Keywords: Envenomation; Occupation; Risk factor; Snake bite.

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Conflict of interest statement

Compliance with Ethical Standards Conflicts of Interest Authors Meghan Spyres MD, Anne-Michelle Ruha MD, Steven Seifert MD, Nancy Onisko DO, Angela Padilla-Jones RN, and Eric Smith MSIS have no conflicts of interest to declare. Funding There was no direct funding for this project. BTG International sponsored an unrestricted grant to ACMT for the NASBR registry.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Occupational and total snake bites by month
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Anatomic location of occupational snake bites
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Patterns of intentional and unintentional occupational snake bites
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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