Massive Honeybee Envenomation: A Case Series of Simultaneous Multiple Casualties

Mass honeybee envenomation (MHE) is a rare occurrence, with possible life-threatening or fatal consequences.

To present the first description of multiple simultaneous casualties in a single incident of MHE.

Nine young men were simultaneously attacked by a large honeybee swarm. All patients were hemodynamically stable on arrival to Sheba Medical Center. One had fiberoptic evidence of laryngeal edema. Eight (89%) of the patients had leukocytosis and laboratory evidence of rhabdomyolysis. Eight patients were hospitalized in an internal medicine ward. The patient who had the most (over 300) stings removed presented with severe rhabdomyolysis and acute renal failure (ARF) and was admitted to the intensive care unit.

Most patients had a benign clinical course and were discharged within 2 days. One patient developed severe rhabdomyolysis and was treated with fluids and urine alkalinization with significant improvement. The clinical course of another patient was complicated by ARF consistent with acute tubular necrosis. His creatinine peaked at 3.04 mg/dl and improved over several days until his discharge.

In our case series, we demonstrated the spectrum of clinical presentations associated with MHE and highlighted the importance of stings load as a prognostic factor, which may dictate early therapeutic intervention.