Development of osteomyelitis secondary to a snakebite: Case Report

Abstract

Bilsev Ince, Zeynep Altuntas, Mehmet Dadaci

The Viperidae family is responsible for most of the venomous snakebites in Anatolia. Toxicity symptoms may be local such as edema, hyperemia, blisters, necrosis, lymphadenopathy, and ecchymosis or hematological, including high white blood cell (WBC), neutrophilia, decrease in hemoglobin, thrombocytopenia, international normalized ratio (INR) elongation, and increase in creatine kinase (CK), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). Antivenom therapy should be provided if hyperemia continues and/or edema does not regress. Complications are very low in envenomation cases related to Viperidae bites with proper treatment and follow-up. Otherwise, complications can progress to necrosis, acute renal failure, compartment syndrome, amputation, and death may be seen. However, no report in the literature has described osteomyelitis as a late complication of snakebite. In this study, we present an osteomyelitis case caused by snakebite culminating in amputation because of the inadequate treatment