An official at PIMS pharmacy who did not want to be named said the hospital was running out of anti-rabies and
antivenin drugs and permission to allow life-saving drugs' import will greatly benefit patients.
So far we have registered two
antivenins which are very effective," noted Dr Matendechero.
Retrospection and prospection for manufacturing of snake
antivenins in Taiwan.
It should be considered that
antivenin treatment can be more hazardous than the snake poison itself (8).
The treatment of black widow spider envenomation involves local wound care, symptomatic treatment that includes benzodiazepine and opioids, and the delivery of the toxin's antidote
antivenin to patients that present with systemic findings (8).
He had been treated with 26 doses of
antivenin. Doctors told her a normal bite is usually treated with two to four doses.
acutus
antivenin was purchased from Shanghai Biotechnology Co.
Using monovalent
antivenin is preferred as it is more efficacious and cost effective and has less risk of adverse reactions due to the smaller volume required for treatment as compared to polyvalent.
One vial of reconstituted
antivenin was given via intravenous route followed by another vial mixed with normal saline via constant rate infusion over a period of one hour.
The patient was thus able to provide the first responders with detailed information about the snake and on where to obtain the corresponding
antivenin. He instructed his wife to apply a pressure bandage to the forearm.
Two days after receiving the
antivenin, he developed disturbance in the level of consciousness, respiratory distress, and coagulopathy; a brain CT with IV contrast revealed bilateral hypodensities that resolved upon resolution of the symptoms [15].
Currently,
antivenin is the only specific treatment towards envenomation.