ABSTRACT
This report details a documented case of fatal King cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) envenomation in the Philippines. A 46-year-old woman from a mountainous town in Leyte was bitten on her left thigh by a snake. Despite receiving prompt medical attention, including administration of fluids and oxygen, she went into arrest and succumbed within 2.5 hours of the bite. Inadequate pre-hospital care, including endotracheal intubation and assisted ventilation, highlights a notable gap in emergency medical services. Photographic evidence, verified by a herpetologist, confirmed the involvement of a King cobra, with venom presenting with a swift and lethal systemic effect that led to the patient's demise, despite minimal local manifestations. This incident accentuates the urgent need for accessible, effective antivenom and improved snakebite management protocols in the Philippines. It also calls for heightened awareness and preparedness among pre-hospital healthcare providers and the public, alongside advocating for more research into snakebite envenomation.
Subject(s)
Elapid Venoms , Elapidae , Snake Bites , Animals , Female , Middle Aged , Humans , Philippines , Fatal Outcome , Antivenins/therapeutic useABSTRACT
The Samar cobra, Naja samarensis Peters, 1861 is one of the World Health Organization's category I venomous snakes in the Philippines. Although N. samarensis is known to inhabit Eastern Visayas, unlike N. philippinensis in Luzon, no clinical case reports have yet been published in the international literature. No immuno-diagnostic assays have been developed for venomous snakes in the Philippines, even for research purposes. Therefore, identification of the causative snake in hospitals is challenging. In vivo pre-clinical tests using mice showed that locally-produced antivenom raised against N. philippinensis venom ["Purified Cobra Antivenom (PCAV)"] cross-neutralised N. samarensis venom. Here, we present five snakebite envenomation cases where causative snakes were confirmed in photos as N. samarensis by an expert local herpetologist. Patients' symptoms and signs varied, from mild to extensive local cytotoxic to systemic neurotoxic envenomation. In one case, venom had been spat into the eye. Out of five patients, two underwent surgical debridement of necrotic tissue at the bite site. One paediatric patient was intubated because of cardiopulmonary arrest. Except for the spitting cobra case, four cases were successfully treated with PCAV and supportive management. These are the first clinical case reports of confirmed N. samarensis envenomation.
