Inside Pediatrics Spring 2023

WHEN A SNAKE BITES NEW CLINIC NOT RATTLED BY SNAKEBITE CHALLENGES

I n the immediate aftermath of a snakebite, a natural question is, “Will I die?” The answer is very likely no, even if the snake is venomous. Only about five people die per year from snakebites in America. So once the initial shock has passed, there is a better question to ask: “Will I be maimed for life?” “So many people—in the Southeastern United States, especially—have persistent wounds, bad swelling and morbidity issues after snake envenomation (injection of the snake venom into a person’s bosy), and there was no good place to send them for follow-up,” said William Rushton, M.D., associate professor in the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Department of Emergency Medicine in the Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine. Rushton is a medical toxicologist and the medical director of the Alabama Poison Information Center (APIC), the state’s poison control center, based at Children’s of Alabama. Nearly all snakebites in Alabama trigger a call to APIC. In the heart of snakebite season, Rushton and fellow medical toxicologist Sukhshant Atti, M.D., average one or two snakebite consults every day with providers throughout the state. In 2021, Rushton and wound care expert Dag Shapshak, M.D., associate professor in the UAB Department of Emergency Medicine, launched the first-of-its-kind Children’s of Alabama and UAB Comprehensive Snakebite Program, including one of the nation’s first dedicated snakebite follow-up clinics, which treats patients in the hospital, provides follow-up

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