Snake Envenomation in Raigarh—A Four-year Retrospective Study

Envenomation by poisonous snakes is an occupational hazard that causes considerable morbidity and mortality worldwide. Deaths due to snake bite envenomation in the Asian subcontinent contribute to the major part of the global burden of disease. Venomous snakes are found all over the world, and their envenomation leads to a significant proportion of loss of life every year. The present cross-sectional retrospective study was conducted from 2015 to 2019 in the Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology at Late Shri Lakhi Ram Agrawal Memorial Government Medical College, Raigarh (Chhattisgarh), to know the pattern and distribution of cases according to year and season, activity and period of survival of the victims in all age groups and both sexes. In our study, 2.72% of all autopsy cases involved snake bite incidents. Maximum cases occurred in the rainy season, that is, 60.66% and at night times (63.93%). Male victims (68.85%) outnumbered female victims (31.15%), and the most commonly affected age group belongs to 21–30 years, that is 36.07%. In most cases, the site of bite was the lower limb (65.57%), and the survival period was 0–6 hours, which is 52.46%. The majority of cases were reported in the agricultural field (49.18%). The majority of snake bites are accidental and require public awareness and speedy transportation of the patient to the medical facilities within the golden period. Ensuring the availability of Anti Snake Venoms and trained staff at the grassroot level may reduce the number of fatalities due to snake bites.