title: Acute changes in serum cortisol levels following Russel's viper bites in Myanmar.
abstract: Forty-eight Russell's viper bite patients (40 males, 8 females), age ranging from 16-76 years were studied. Out of 48 patients, 14 were found to have a prolonged whole blood clotting time test (WBCT) (i.e. incoagulable blood) (Group 1); 23 had a normal WBCT (i.e. clotted blood) (Group II); and 11 patients had a normal WBCT on admission which changed to non-clotting during the clinical course (Group III). Four patients from group I developed hypotension and 2 expired. The serum cortisol concentration (mean +/- SEM) on admission among groups I and II were 639 +/- 45.6 and 424 +/- 33.2 nmol/l respectively. The blood cortisol level in 35 subjects (controls) were 370.7 +/- 17.7 nmol/l (mean +/- SEM). There was a significant rise of blood cortisol in patients with incoagulable blood when compared to controls at the time of admission to the hospital (p < 0.05); but there was no significant difference among those patients with clotted blood. A much higher mean serum cortisol level was observed in 4 patients with hypotension as compared to 10 patients without shock. These patients with hypotension according to our study shown to have a favorable response to steroid therapy and eventually recovered. Whether higher doses of steroid in addition to antiserum confer extra benefit in suppressing nonspecific venom effects on the pituitary and/or adrenal is not known.
authors.forename: T N
authors.initials: TN
authors.lastname: Swe
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Khin
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Thwin
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Naing
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D002052:Myanmar; D017840:Daboia; D012909:Snake Bites / Q000097:blood*; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric
chemical_list: D006854:Hydrocortisone