An Unusual Presentation of Vasculotoxic Snake Bite.

ABSTRACT

In India, viper bites are more common than any other poisonous snake bites. In these patients, the cardinal features are local pain, swelling and mild coagulation abnormalities; but gangrenous changes involving bilateral upper and lower limbs are uncommon. We are reporting a case of a 62-year-old man bitten by a Russell viper on the right thumb. He experienced local pain, swelling and later developed disseminated intravascular coagulopathy, pre-renal azotemia, sepsis, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and peripheral gangrenous changes involving bilateral upper and lower limbs. He succumbed to his ailment 5 months after the bite. There have been very few cases of gangrenous changes involving distal part of extremities associated with snake bite.