Purpose

The main aim of this study is to estimate the economic burden and prevalence of bites and stings injuries in Saudi Arabia.

Methods

A retrospective, cross-sectional study was conducted at King Saud University Medical City (KSUMC) for all bites and stings cases presented to the Emergency Department (ED) between the period June 2015 and May 2019.

Results

A total of 1328 bites and stings cases were treated in the ED at KSUMC. There were 886 insect bites and stings cases, 376 animal bites, 22 human bites, 34 scorpion stings, and ten snakebites. Most cases were reported in April - June. Females account for 62% of the reported cases, and the mean age was 24 years old. The total management cost of bite and sting cases during the study period was 3.4 million Saudi Riyal (SR). The spending cost of the management of animal bites was the highest as it cost 1,681,920.76 SR, followed by insect's management costing 1,228,623.68 SR.

Conclusion

Bites and stings have a considerable health care burden on our society. Although the vast majority of the cases were not associated with a severe life-threatening condition, many were visit ED and associated with high medical costs. Increased awareness of the hazards of animal-related injuries, especially during spring and summer, where most cases take place may lower its incidence and decrease EDs visits.

中文翻译：

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叮咬管理的负担：沙特阿拉伯王国一家学术医院的经验。

目的

本研究的主要目的是估计沙特阿拉伯的经济负担和叮咬伤害的患病率。

方法

在沙特国王大学医学城 (KSUMC) 对 2015 年 6 月至 2019 年 5 月期间提交给急诊科 (ED) 的所有叮咬病例进行了一项回顾性横断面研究。

结果

KSUMC 的急诊科共治疗了 1328 例咬伤和蜇伤病例。昆虫叮咬886起，动物叮咬376起，人咬伤22起，蝎蜇伤34起，蛇咬伤10起。大多数病例报告于 4 月至 6 月。女性占报告病例的62%，平均年龄为24岁。研究期间咬伤病例的总管理成本为 340 万沙特里亚尔 (SR)。动物咬伤管理支出成本最高，为1,681,920.76 SR，其次是昆虫管理，为1,228,623.68 SR。

结论

叮咬给我们的社会带来了相当大的医疗保健负担。尽管绝大多数病例与危及生命的严重疾病无关，但许多病例是就诊于 ED 并与高昂的医疗费用有关。提高对动物相关伤害危害的认识，特别是在春季和夏季，大多数病例都发生在春季和夏季，这可能会降低其发病率并减少急诊室就诊次数。