Clinical Features and Outcomes of Scorpion Sting in Western Lowlands of Eritrea: A Prospective Study

Scorpion envenomation is a global health problem that results in life-threatening medical emergencies in the tropical and subtropical regions. Pediatric victims are at a higher risk of severe envenomation than are adults.

This study aimed to determine the clinical features and outcomes of patient's hospitalized for scorpion stings at Tesseney Community Hospital.

A prospective, descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted from 1^st June 2019 to 31^st May 2020 in patients hospitalized due to scorpion stings at the Tesseney Community Hospital.

About 165 scorpion-sting patients were admitted during the study period. The majority of cases were older than 15 years (61.8%) with an approximately equal male-to-female sex ratio (0.94:1), and the scorpion sting cases largely occurred in urban areas (57%) compared to rural areas. The black scorpion (38.8%) was the predominant scorpion; however, in some cases, the scorpion color was undetermined (31.5%). The foot was the predominant sting site (64.8%), followed by the hand (31.5%). Single stings (91.5%) were more frequent than multiple stings (8.5%). The majority (94.8%) of scorpion sting cases occurred during summer, with the highest scorpion sting cases occurring in September and October. The main clinical manifestations upon presentation were localized pain (70.3%) and sweating (56.4%), with more severe symptoms exhibited among age groups less than 15 years. The fatality rate (4.8%) was largely associated with age groups less than 15 years and class three scorpion stings.

Our study found that children experienced more severe envenoming symptoms and related mortality than adults did. This study may be a tool to identify at-risk population groups and build measures to prevent scorpion stings within the western lowlands of Eritrea.