Open AccessPrehospital care practices for venomous snakebites in resource-limited settings: A narrative review
Author(s) -
Godpower Chinedu Michael,
Ibrahim Aliyu,
Bukar Alhaji Grema,
Niongun Lawrence Paul De-Kaa
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
archives of medicine and health sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2321-6085
pISSN - 2321-4848
DOI - 10.4103/amhs.amhs_93_17
Subject(s) - scrutiny , confusion , psychological intervention , medicine , medical emergency , narrative , narrative review , limited resources , resource (disambiguation) , health care , nursing , intensive care medicine , psychology , political science , risk analysis (engineering) , law , computer network , linguistics , philosophy , computer science , psychoanalysis
Venomous snakebite is a medical emergency encountered worldwide, especially in resource-limited communities. It usually leaves victims at the mercy of traditional care, whose effectiveness have come under scrutiny over time. Several of these traditional/ first aid practices have also been reported over time. Controversies over their efficacy often result in confusion among snakebite victims, their caregivers, and sometimes, among health-care providers. This narrative review describes reported prehospital interventions for venomous snakebites highlighting their usefulness, dangers, and/or limitations associated with their use and the currently widely recommended prehospital activities for venomous snakebite