[Cardiac damage due to scorpion envenomation: case involving atrial flutter]. / Envenimation scorpionique avec atteinte cardiaque: à propos d'une observation de flutter atrial.

The purpose of this report is to describe a case of scorpion envenomation observed in northern Chad in a 24-year-old-man with no medical history. The victim rapidly developed supraventricular arrhythmia due to catecholaminergic storm induced by the neurotoxic activity of the venom. Cardiomyopathy that can lead to fatal acute heart failure is a risk after scorpion envenomation. Heart damage is observed in 1% of scorpion envenomation cases and can result from several mechanisms, i.e., adrenergic myocarditis (as in the patient herein), toxic myocarditis or myocardial ischemia. Few articles describing supraventricular arrhythmia following scorpion envenomation have been published. It is paroxystic and regresses spontaneously in case of transient catecholaminergic storm. Occurrence of atrial flutter, even if not associated with heart failure, is an indication of severe scorpion envenomation and requires close patient monitoring and symptomatic treatment using betablocking drugs. The efficacy of specific treatment for scorpion envenomation, i.e., immunotherapy, remains controversial.