RT Book, Section
A1 Lank, Patrick M.
A1 Erickson, Timothy B.
A2 Schafermeyer, Robert
A2 Tenenbein, Milton
A2 Macias, Charles G.
A2 Sharieff, Ghazala Q.
A2 Yamamoto, Loren G.
SR Print(0)
ID 1105687290
T1 Snake Envenomations
T2 Strange and Schafermeyer's Pediatric Emergency Medicine, 4e
YR 2014
FD 2014
PB McGraw-Hill Education
PP New York, NY
SN 978-0-07-182926-7
LK accessemergencymedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1105687290
RD 2024/04/19
AB Pit  vipers  (Crotalids)  account  for  the  majority  of  envenomations  in  pediatric  patients.  Because  of  their  small  body  weight,  young  children  are  relatively  more  vulnerable  to  severe  envenomation.Pit  viper  (Crotalinae)  envenomations  result  in  hematotoxicity  while  coral  snakes  (Elapidae)  cause  neurotoxicity.Crotaline  snakes  are  responsible  for  the  vast  majority  of  snake  envenomations  in  the  United  States.  Identification  of  exact  species  is  not  essential  since  treatment  is  the  same  for  all  indigenous  American  pit  vipers.Prehospital  management  of  snakebites  includes  immobilization  of  the  bitten  extremity,  minimization  of  physical  activity,  fluid  administration.  No  “first  aid”  technique  has  been  demonstrated  to  improve  outcome  after  envenomation.  Rapid  transport  for  administration  of  antivenom  is  the  most  important  intervention  in  prehospital  care.Antivenom,  such  as  Crotaline  Fab  antivenom,  consisting  of  highly  purified  papain-digested  antibodies,  is  the  current  standard  of  care  for  treatment  of  crotaline  snake  envenomation.Antivenom  dosing  in  pediatric  patients  is  based  on  potential  venom  load,  not  kilogram  size  of  the  patient.