[Treatment of snakebites at the Guinea Institute for Applied Biology Research]

This study aims to present the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of snakebites treated in Kindia, Guinea, between 2015 and 2019.

We conducted a retrospective descriptive study covering the period from January 2015 to December 2019. The study included all patient records for envenomation from snakebites at the Institut de Recherche en Biologie Appliquée de Guinée in Kindia.

A total of 1,420 snakebites were recorded, including 1,008 envenomations (male-to-female ratio = 1.2), over a 60-month period. Most patients (76.9%) came from rural areas and were primarily involved in agriculture and livestock farming. In 85.4% of cases, the bites were to the lower limbs. Viper syndrome was predominant, and 98.5% of patients received antivenom with a 95.9% cure rate.

The results of this study demonstrate that snakebite envenomation are common and have a 2.5% case-fatality rate. These results suggest the need for greater consideration of snakebites in Guinea's health policy.