Is the second dose antivenom in scorpion stings: is it effective?

INTRODUCTION: The toxic effects of scorpion stings may be mortal have been known for many years. The progression of poisonings due to scorpion stings is more severe in childhood. These poisonings can cause complications from local skin findings such as pain, redness, and pruritus to fatal complications such as heart failure and pulmonary edema.
We aimed to investigate the effectiveness of the second dose antivenom in this study.

METHODS: 100 patients between 0-17 years who were followed up due to scorpion stings or poisonings in Mustafa Kemal University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics between October 2016 and March 2018 were analyzed for age, gender, season, site of scorpion stings, clinical findings, treatment and follow-up steps, effects of second dose antivenom on clinical progression retrospectively.
RESULTS: Of the total 100 patients, 45 were female (45%) and 55 were male (55%).The average age of the patients was 3.5 years (3,6 years for girls and 3,5 years for boys).The most frequent applications were summer (71%). Bite locations in order of frequency; foots, hands, legs, arms, head-neck, genital area.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: We have observed that early antivenom therapy reduces the risk of developing systemic symptoms, and even recurrent dose antivenom corrects systemic findings. We think that antivenom should be applied especially in pediatric patients and all patients should be observed for at least 24 hours.