Clinical toxinology

Abstract

Clinical toxinology is a specialized area of clinical medicine focused on the pathophysiology, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases caused by animal, plant, and fungal toxins. This review focuses on recent developments in snakebite. Snakebite is newly recognized as a Neglected Tropical Disease by the World Health Organization (WHO), reflecting the large human and economic cost of this disease. New WHO guidelines on antivenom production are available. The methods of producing antivenom and dosing are changing as understanding of envenoming improves. Lower antivenom doses in some regions are delivering equal outcomes, but antivenom cannot fully treat all envenoming types. Early antivenom treatment may reduce local tissue damage in some types of snakebite.