[Insect stings. A prospective study of complications and injury mechanisms]

The aim of the study was to evaluate complications to insect stings, and to describe the circumstances in which the patients were stung. During a one year period (1.1.-31.12.1991) a total of 178 hospital and emergency room contacts due to insect stings were registered. All patients afterwards received a mailed questionnaire concerning insect stings. Nearly 3/4 of the patients were able to identify the stinging insect by use of an identification chart. One hundred and forty-five patients had mild symptoms, 33 patients had moderate symptoms and three presented severe symptoms with anaphylactic shock. Eleven percent of the patients required admission and another 21% were seen in out-patient clinics. More children than adults could after a physical examination be discharged from the hospital without treatment. More than 3/4 of the stings occurred in July, August and September and more than 3/4 were during the day and evening. We found that most of the insect stings were due to either wasps or bees and that no one stung by insects other than wasps or bees needed admission to hospital. We conclude that a major part of insect stings could be avoided by following ordinary precautions.