Epidemiological Study of Scorpion Sting in Lordegan City during the Years 2014- 2017

Introduction: Scorpion sting is one of the major health risks in many countriesaround the world. . Lordegan is one of the areas where several reports ofscorpion stings occur. The purpose of this study was to describe theepidemiological and demographic characteristics of selected scorpions forpreventive measures.Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted to collectinformation about all the scorpion patients in Lordegan city health center during2014-2017Results: The results showed that the total number of scorpion stings was 2,422,of which 1,124 cases were female (46.4%) and 1,298 cases were male (53.6%).Of the total number of stings, 2 deaths occurred. Death rate of the cases in thisarea is about .01 % in 1000 people. It’s worth noting that 2,060 of the caseswere rural (85.1%) and 362 were urban (14.9%). 764 (31.5%) people’s visits tothe hospital lasted less than 1 hour and 30 minutes, and 749 people (31%) stayedbetween 1 hour and 30 minutes to 3 hours and 909 people (37.5%) stayed morethan three hours. 39% of victims were stung on the leg, 35% on their arms, 20%on their trunks, 6% on their head and necks. 99.9% of victims recovered from thestings, and 0.01% died from the stings. The majority of recorded stings tookplace from April to October. The 15- to 24-year-old age group suffered thehighest number of stings, and the 65-year-old and older age group suffered thelowest number. 80.6% of stings were by yellow scorpions and 19.4% by blackscorpions.Conclusion: Scorpion stings are common in Lordegan, especially in the summermonths. Public education, as well as the risk-reduction strategies of individualscan prevent scorpion stings.

Keywords:

Epidemiology , Scorpion Sting , Lordegan City