Scorpionism in Pará, Brazil: Clinical assessment of neuromuscular manifestations
ABSTRACT Background: In the western region of Pará (Brazil), the clinical manifestations of scorpionism exhibit unique characteristics, and there is currently no proposal for a quantitative assessment of this condition. This manuscript proposes and applies a classification system for assessing the...
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Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical (SBMT)
2025-08-01
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| Series: | Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical |
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| Online Access: | http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0037-86822025000100411&tlng=en |
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| author | Rosicléia Freitas Borges Joyce Nascimento Dergan Pasesa Pascuala Quispe Torrez Vera Lúcia Teixeira de Freitas Maria Rita Bertolozzi Átila Barros Magalhães Fernanda Jacqueline Teixeira Cardoso Rogério Bertani Francisco Oscar de Siqueira França |
| author_facet | Rosicléia Freitas Borges Joyce Nascimento Dergan Pasesa Pascuala Quispe Torrez Vera Lúcia Teixeira de Freitas Maria Rita Bertolozzi Átila Barros Magalhães Fernanda Jacqueline Teixeira Cardoso Rogério Bertani Francisco Oscar de Siqueira França |
| author_sort | Rosicléia Freitas Borges |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACT Background: In the western region of Pará (Brazil), the clinical manifestations of scorpionism exhibit unique characteristics, and there is currently no proposal for a quantitative assessment of this condition. This manuscript proposes and applies a classification system for assessing the severity of scorpionism, comparing it with the system used by the Ministry of Health. Methods: This quantitative, descriptive, observational, cross-sectional study evaluated victims of scorpionism treated at the Municipal Hospital of Rurópolis in Pará, Brazil. Clinical and therapeutic data were collected using instruments and scales, particularly the International Cooperative Scale for the Evaluation of Ataxias. Results: Thirty-four patients were assessed between January and July 2023. The majority were young males. All presented with pain, an 'electric shock sensation' and myoclonus. Muscle spasms were observed in 65% of patients, postural changes in 64%, dysmetria in 55%, altered eye movements in 50%, and dysarthria in 44%. While these manifestations are transitory, they cause significant discomfort to the patient. The classification proposed in this study was compared to the Ministry of Health's Severity Classification, and low agreement between the two classifications was shown (only in 50% of cases). The proposed classification raised the severity of 17 patients by one degree: fifteen from mild to moderate and two from moderate to severe, one of whom developed rhabdomyolysis and acute kidney injury. Conclusions: The proposed classification was beneficial and could be used in the future to assess the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions for this frequent and neglected condition in the Amazon. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-bfbb43cfcc7e49fa97c7c95d43386b1d |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1678-9849 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical (SBMT) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical |
| spelling | doaj-art-bfbb43cfcc7e49fa97c7c95d43386b1d2025-08-20T03:36:06ZengSociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical (SBMT)Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical1678-98492025-08-015810.1590/0037-8682-0053-2025Scorpionism in Pará, Brazil: Clinical assessment of neuromuscular manifestationsRosicléia Freitas Borgeshttps://orcid.org/0009-0008-3752-8411Joyce Nascimento Derganhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-1960-6005Pasesa Pascuala Quispe Torrezhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-2839-8466Vera Lúcia Teixeira de Freitashttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-1112-081XMaria Rita Bertolozzihttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-5009-5285Átila Barros Magalhãeshttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-2930-9530Fernanda Jacqueline Teixeira Cardosohttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-8532-1329Rogério Bertanihttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-8186-8316Francisco Oscar de Siqueira Françahttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-8510-7939ABSTRACT Background: In the western region of Pará (Brazil), the clinical manifestations of scorpionism exhibit unique characteristics, and there is currently no proposal for a quantitative assessment of this condition. This manuscript proposes and applies a classification system for assessing the severity of scorpionism, comparing it with the system used by the Ministry of Health. Methods: This quantitative, descriptive, observational, cross-sectional study evaluated victims of scorpionism treated at the Municipal Hospital of Rurópolis in Pará, Brazil. Clinical and therapeutic data were collected using instruments and scales, particularly the International Cooperative Scale for the Evaluation of Ataxias. Results: Thirty-four patients were assessed between January and July 2023. The majority were young males. All presented with pain, an 'electric shock sensation' and myoclonus. Muscle spasms were observed in 65% of patients, postural changes in 64%, dysmetria in 55%, altered eye movements in 50%, and dysarthria in 44%. While these manifestations are transitory, they cause significant discomfort to the patient. The classification proposed in this study was compared to the Ministry of Health's Severity Classification, and low agreement between the two classifications was shown (only in 50% of cases). The proposed classification raised the severity of 17 patients by one degree: fifteen from mild to moderate and two from moderate to severe, one of whom developed rhabdomyolysis and acute kidney injury. Conclusions: The proposed classification was beneficial and could be used in the future to assess the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions for this frequent and neglected condition in the Amazon.http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0037-86822025000100411&tlng=enScorpionismScorpion stingEnvenomationSeverity assessmentNeuromuscular manifestationsAmazonia |
| spellingShingle | Rosicléia Freitas Borges Joyce Nascimento Dergan Pasesa Pascuala Quispe Torrez Vera Lúcia Teixeira de Freitas Maria Rita Bertolozzi Átila Barros Magalhães Fernanda Jacqueline Teixeira Cardoso Rogério Bertani Francisco Oscar de Siqueira França Scorpionism in Pará, Brazil: Clinical assessment of neuromuscular manifestations Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical Scorpionism Scorpion sting Envenomation Severity assessment Neuromuscular manifestations Amazonia |
| title | Scorpionism in Pará, Brazil: Clinical assessment of neuromuscular manifestations |
| title_full | Scorpionism in Pará, Brazil: Clinical assessment of neuromuscular manifestations |
| title_fullStr | Scorpionism in Pará, Brazil: Clinical assessment of neuromuscular manifestations |
| title_full_unstemmed | Scorpionism in Pará, Brazil: Clinical assessment of neuromuscular manifestations |
| title_short | Scorpionism in Pará, Brazil: Clinical assessment of neuromuscular manifestations |
| title_sort | scorpionism in para brazil clinical assessment of neuromuscular manifestations |
| topic | Scorpionism Scorpion sting Envenomation Severity assessment Neuromuscular manifestations Amazonia |
| url | http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0037-86822025000100411&tlng=en |
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