Snakebite Associated Thrombotic Microangiopathy and Recommendations for Clinical Practice.

Author(s)
Noutsos T
Currie BJ
Wijewickrama ES
Isbister GK
Publication Date
2022-01-14
Abstract
Snakebite is a significant and under-resourced global public health issue. Snake venoms cause a variety of potentially fatal clinical toxin syndromes, including venom-induced consumption coagulopathy (VICC) which is associated with major haemorrhage. A subset of patients with VICC develop a thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA). This article reviews recent evidence regarding snakebite-associated TMA and its epidemiology, diagnosis, outcomes, and effectiveness of interventions including antivenom and therapeutic plasma-exchange. Snakebite-associated TMA presents with microangiopathic haemolytic anaemia (evidenced by schistocytes on the blood film), thrombocytopenia in almost all cases, and a spectrum of acute kidney injury (AKI). A proportion of patients require dialysis, most survive and achieve dialysis free survival. There is no evidence that antivenom prevents TMA specifically, but early antivenom remains the mainstay of treatment for snake envenoming. There is no evidence for therapeutic plasma-exchange being effective. We propose diagnostic criteria for snakebite-associated TMA as anaemia with >1.0% schistocytes on blood film examination, together with absolute thrombocytopenia (<150 × 10(9)/L) or a relative decrease in platelet count of >25% from baseline. Patients are at risk of long-term chronic kidney disease and long term follow up is recommended.
Affiliation
Global and Tropical Health Division, Menzies School of Health Research, Charles Darwin University, Darwin 0810, Australia.
Division of Medicine, Royal Darwin Hospital, Darwin 0810, Australia.
National Hospital of Sri Lanka, University Medical Unit, Colombo 008000, Sri Lanka.
Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, Colombo 008000, Sri Lanka.
Clinical Toxicology Research Group, University of Newcastle, Newcastle 2308, Australia.
Citation
Toxins (Basel). 2022 Jan 14;14(1):57. doi: 10.3390/toxins14010057.
OrcId
0000-0001-9905-2019
0000-0002-8878-8837
0000-0002-1516-7263
0000-0003-1519-7419
Pubmed ID
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35051033/?otool=iaurydwlib
Link
Volume
14
Subject
Humans
Snake Bites/*complications
*Thrombotic Microangiopathies/diagnosis/epidemiology/therapy
Title
Snakebite Associated Thrombotic Microangiopathy and Recommendations for Clinical Practice.
Type of document
Journal Article
Review
Entity Type
Publication

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