TY - CHAP M1 - Book, Section TI - Bites and Stings A1 - Schneir, Aaron A1 - Clark, Richard F. A2 - Tintinalli, Judith E. A2 - Stapczynski, J. Stephan A2 - Ma, O. John A2 - Yealy, Donald M. A2 - Meckler, Garth D. A2 - Cline, David M. PY - 2016 T2 - Tintinalli’s Emergency Medicine: A Comprehensive Study Guide, 8e AB - The phylum Arthropoda is the largest division of the animal kingdom. The phylum includes insects (bees, wasps, hornets, flies, mosquitoes, bedbugs, fire ants, caterpillars, fleas), arachnids (spiders, scorpions, chiggers, ticks), and crustaceans (shrimp, lobsters, crabs). Venomous bites and stings from arthropods are a significant worldwide problem.1 In the United States, the American Association of Poison Control Centers reported almost 50,000 cases of exposures to arthropods in 2012.2 Some of these were listed as resulting in major or severe reactions, including severe pain, neurotoxicity, or other signs and symptoms. Fatalities among these exposures are rarely reported to poison centers and usually result from allergic reactions to Hymenoptera stings. Toxic reactions to multiple stings by members of the order Hymenoptera and severe systemic allergic reactions to one or more stings or bites of other insects, such as deerflies, blackflies, horseflies, and kissing bugs, can all present as emergency, life-threatening situations.3 Other arthropod bites and envenomations merit review either because they cause specific organ system toxicity or because they can result in transmission of infectious disease. This chapter discusses the most common and serious arthropod bites and envenomations. Tick bites are discussed in the "Tickborne Zoonotic Infections" section of chapter 160, "Zoonotic Infections: Tickborne Zoonotic Infections." SN - PB - McGraw-Hill Education CY - New York, NY Y2 - 2024/03/29 UR - accessemergencymedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1132929027 ER -