Abstract
Bites by many species of venomous snake may result in local necrosis at, or extending from, the site of the bite. The use of prophylactic antibiotics to prevent infection as a complication of local necrotic envenoming is controversial. A double-blind randomized controlled trial was carried out to assess whether antibiotic therapy is effective in this situation. Two hundred and fifty-one patients, with proven envenoming by snakes of the genus Bothrops, admitted to two hospitals in Brazil, between 1990 and 1996, were randomized to receive either oral chloramphenicol (500 mg every six hours for five days) or placebo. One hundred and twenty-two of these patients received chloramphenicol (group 1) and 129 were given placebo (group 2). There were no significant differences between the groups at the time of admission. Necrosis developed in seven (5.7%) patients in group 1 and in five (3.9%) patients in group 2 (P>0.05) while abscesses occurred in six patients (4.9%) in group 1 and in six (4.7%) patients in group 2 (P>0.05). In conclusion, the use of orally-administered chloramphenicol for victims of Bothrops snake bite with signs of local envenoming on admission, is not effective for the prevention of local infections.
References
Nov 1, 1979·The Journal of Infectious Diseases·E J GoldsteinS M Finegold
Oct 1, 1992·Tropical Doctor·K R Kerrigan
Dec 1, 1992·The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene·S de A Nishioka, P V Silveira
Feb 1, 1992·Annals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology·S de A Nishioka, P V Silveira
Jan 1, 1991·Toxicon : Official Journal of the International Society on Toxinology·R D Theakston, D A Warrell
Nov 1, 1990·Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene·R D TheakstonD A Warrell
Jan 1, 1990·Revista Do Instituto De Medicina Tropical De São Paulo·M T JorgeC L Cordeiro
Nov 1, 1989·Revista Do Instituto De Medicina Tropical De São Paulo·J G de AndradeF Zicker
Apr 1, 1972·The Journal of Trauma·W D FullenW A Altemeier
Mar 1, 1982·Journal of Veterinary Pharmacology and Therapeutics·G ZivJ Nicolet
Apr 1, 1982·Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy·J T SummersgillM J Raff
Mar 1, 1981·The Journal of Infectious Diseases·K A JoinerJ G Bartlett
Jan 1, 1982·The Medical Clinics of North America·J G Bartlett
Jun 1, 1994·Toxicon : Official Journal of the International Society on Toxinology·M T JorgeJ S de Mendonça
May 1, 1997·World Journal of Surgery·K R KerriganJ D Dye
May 1, 1997·QJM : Monthly Journal of the Association of Physicians·R Milani JúniorD A Warrell
Feb 14, 1998·Revista Da Sociedade Brasileira De Medicina Tropical·L A Ribeiro, M T Jorge
Jun 17, 1998·Annals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology·M T JorgeP V Silveira
Dec 16, 1998·Revista da Associação Médica Brasileira·L A RibeiroM T Jorge
Jan 31, 2002·Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene·L A RibeiroM L Lebrão
Mar 15, 2002·The American Journal of Medicine·Podila S Sarma
Jul 1, 1994·Postgraduate Medicine·Terence M Davidson, Susan F Schafer
Citations
Nov 22, 2007·Annals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology·F BucaretchiR J Vieira
Nov 26, 2005·BMJ : British Medical Journal·David A Warrell
Jan 26, 2010·Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene·John B HarrisUlrich Kuch
Oct 20, 2006·Clinical Infectious Diseases : an Official Publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America·Thomas Junghanss, Mauro Bodio
Jun 19, 2012·Clinical Toxicology : the Official Journal of the American Academy of Clinical Toxicology and European Association of Poisons Centres and Clinical Toxicologists·Ahmad Khaldun IsmailPrakashrao Appareo
Mar 12, 2010·Toxicon : Official Journal of the International Society on Toxinology·Jean-Philippe ChippauxAchille Massougbodji
Jul 14, 2009·Toxicon : Official Journal of the International Society on Toxinology·Rafael Otero-Patiño
Oct 5, 2015·Wilderness & Environmental Medicine·Nicholas C KanaanScott A Weinstein
Feb 4, 2006·Emergency Medicine Australasia : EMA·Geoffrey K Isbister
Dec 7, 2010·Journal of Ethnopharmacology·Alcineide MagalhãesMaria Cristina Dos-Santos
Dec 23, 2009·Toxicon : Official Journal of the International Society on Toxinology·Rachel B CurrierSimon C Wagstaff
Mar 31, 2009·Toxicon : Official Journal of the International Society on Toxinology·Catarina TeixeiraFernando Chaves
Mar 17, 2004·Toxicon : Official Journal of the International Society on Toxinology·José María Gutiérrez, Charlotte L Ownby
Nov 26, 2015·Revista de saúde pública·Maria Rita BertolozziFrancisco Oscar de Siqueira França
Mar 16, 2016·The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene·Yan-Chiao MaoChen-Chang Yang
Nov 21, 2018·The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene·Chanaveerappa BammigattiRathinam Palamalai Swaminathan
Sep 15, 2017·Nature Reviews. Disease Primers·José María GutiérrezDavid A Warrell
Feb 25, 2015·The Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery·Hassan AzizBellal Joseph
Aug 12, 2020·Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene·Chaturaka Rodrigo, Ariaranee Gnanathasan
Feb 15, 2017·Annals of Plastic Surgery·Yu-Hsuan HsiehLee-Wei Chen
Jul 12, 2017·PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases·Jacqueline A G SachettLuiz C L Ferreira
Sep 11, 2020·Toxins·Chih-Chuan Lin Spot Investigators