Retrospective review of case records of snakebite presenting to a single tertiary care centre over a 5-year period

BACKGROUND Snakebite is a disease of the poor, and hospitals catering to these individuals are often resource-constrained. Lack of electronic medical records in these resource-limited settings makes the capture of data even harder. METHODS Before establishing a snakebite registry in the region, we did a retrospective case record review of all snakebite victims (n=3229) over 5 years who presented to a single tertiary care centre, catering to one of the largest number of snakebite victims in the country. RESULTS Of the 451 cases, 262 (58.1%) presented to the emergency department within 2 hours of the bite. In 170 instances, the snake was brought along and the species of the snake was recorded. Russell’s viper was the most common (130; 76.5%). Blood products were used in 237 (52.5%) patients. Acute kidney injury occurred in 165 (36.6%) patients, of whom 37 (8.2%) required dialysis. The mean (SD) duration of hospital admission was 10.5 (7.4) days. There was a significant correlation between number of snakebites with rainfall and humidity. One hundred and seven cases (3.3%) of snakebite resulted in mortality. A majority of mortality records were not available (88%; 94/107), rendering us incapable of doing reliable mortality data correlations or interpretation. CONCLUSION Viperidae bites predominate in the region, with renal injury being the most common cause for morbidity. Region-specific, prospective snakebite mapping could be a cost-effective strategy that might help in vulnerability analysis of the region. A multi-centric region-specific snakebite registry encompassing not just the clinico-epidemiological characteristics of snakebite victims, but also the demographic data, the pre-hospital care and local remedial practices, geospatial distribution, anti-snake venom and blood product usage, will help in developing better healthcare strategies for snakebite victims in India.

Relapsing acute myeloid leukemia presenting as hypopyon uveitis.

Anterior segment infiltration in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) presenting as hypopyon uveitis is very rare. We report this case as an uncommon presentation in a patient on remission after bone marrow transplant for AML. In addition to the hypopyon, the patient presented with “red eye” caused by ocular surface disease due to concurrent graft-versus-host disease and glaucoma. The classical manifestations of masquerade syndrome due to AML were altered by concurrent pathologies. Media opacities further confounded the differential diagnosis. We highlight the investigations used to arrive at a definitive diagnosis. In uveitis, there is a need to maintain a high index of clinical suspicion, as early diagnosis in ocular malignancy can save sight and life.