In a retrospective study of pediatric patients ages (0-18 years) who presented to the ED of a single urban hospital in Arizona, the authors compared patients treated with serial single vial doses of scorpion F(ab’)2 antivenom vs the FDA approved dosing of a single dose of three vials. All patients had grade three or four envenomations. Symptom assessment occurred at multiple times, but the primary endpoint was resolution of symptoms four hours post initiating antivenom. Which group achieved a greater proportion of patients with resolution of symptoms at four hours post antivenom initiation?
Both groups had no patients with symptoms four hours after initiation of antivenom. Complete resolution of symptoms did occur faster (median 62 min) after the three vial dose compared to (median 90 min) after the single serial doses of antivenom.
Dan Quana , Frank LoVecchioa, Bikash Bhattaraib, Megan Floresa, Alan Frechettec and Madhumita Sinhac. Comparing clinical outcomes between two scorpion antivenom dosing strategies in children. Clin Tox 2019, VOL. 57, NO. 9, 760–764.
Submitted by: Kirk Cumpston, DO, FAACT on behalf of The Medical Toxicology Fellowship, Virginia Commonwealth University