Victims feel bite of antivenin delay

SYDNEY - Snakebite victims have to wait too long for antivenin, according to a new Australian report released on Monday, which said access to the potentially lifesaving treatment has not improved in over 10 years.

The report from the Australian Snakebite Project said that although snakebites are a fairly uncommon occurrence, when a venomous snake does actually attack a human, the treatment does not arrive fast enough.

The toxicologists behind the research looked at data from 2005 to 2015, and found the time from snakebite to first dose of antivenin had barely changed in the 10-year period.

Professor Geoffrey Isbister from the University of Newcastle led the study, and said there is room for improvement when it comes to closing the gap between bite and first dose of antivenin.

"We know that giving antivenin early is better and we simply aren't doing enough of that now," Isbister said on Monday.

"It's not a matter of a delay in the patient getting to hospital - in fact, what we are seeing is a delay that occurs in the hospital."

The reason for the holdup within hospitals, according to Isbister, is because many victims of snakebites experience delayed onset of symptoms - for example, it can take up to eight hours for a paralysis to develop.

"Another symptom is blood thinning - that means a patient has to go through a clotting test and it could take an hour or even two for the results to get back from the lab," Isbister said.

However, snakebite victims also have to be concerned about their reaction to the antivenin, as the study found that of the 755 patients who received antivenin, almost 25 percent had hypersensitivity reactions to the treatment.

Despite the concerns, the report did highlight some improvements, as it concluded that smaller doses of antivenin are sufficient to save victims than the amount used in the past.

"Knowing that patients need less antivenin than what was previously administered will decrease the cost and waste for hospitals. A lot of antivenin is thrown out every year," he said.

Xinhua