Table 2. Epidemiological characteristics of the patients and comparison between experimental groups.
| Variable | Bothrops bites (number, %) | Lachesis bites (number, %) | Crotalus bites (number, %) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Group A | Group B | p | Total | Group A | Group B | Total | Group A | Group B | |
| Sex | ||||||||||
| Male | 90 (88.2) | 53 (91.4) | 37 (84.0) | 0.258 | 5 (83.3) | 3 (100.0) | 2 (66.7) | 7 (87.5) | 3 (75.0) | 4 (100.0) |
| Female | 12 (11.8) | 5 (8.6) | 7 (16.0) | 1 (16.7) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (33.3) | 1 (12.5) | 1 (25.0) | 0 (0.0) | |
| Area of occurrence | ||||||||||
| Rural | 70 (68.6) | 42 (72.4) | 28 (63.6) | 0.344 | 6 (100.0) | 3 (100.0) | 3 (100.0) | 4 (50.0) | 3 (75.0) | 1 (25.0) |
| Urban/Periurban | 32 (31.4) | 16 (27.6) | 16 (36.4) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 4 (50.0) | 1 (25.0) | 3 (75.0) | |
| Age group (in years) | ||||||||||
| 0–15 | 12 (11.8) | 4 (6.9) | 8 (18.2) | 1 | 2 (33.3) | 1 (33.3) | 1 (33.3) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) |
| 16–30 | 44 (43.1) | 24 (41.4) | 20 (45.4) | 0.193 | 3 (50.0) | 1 (33.3) | 2 (66.7) | 5 (62.5) | 3 (75.0) | 2 (50.0) |
| 31–60 | 43 (42.2) | 28 (48.3) | 15 (34.1) | 0.051 | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 2 (25.0) | 0 (0.0) | 2 (50.0) |
| ≥61 | 3 (2.9) | 2 (3.4) | 1 (2.3) | 0.292 | 1 (16.7) | 1 (33.3) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (12.5) | 1 (25.0) | 0 (0.0) |
| Ethnicity | ||||||||||
| Admixed | 97 (95.1) | 53 (91.4) | 43 (97.7) | 0.210 | 6 (100.0) | 3 (100.0) | 3 (100.0) | 8 (100.0) | 4 (100.0) | 4 (100.0) |
| Others | 5 (4.9) | 5 (8.6) | 1 (2.3) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | |
| Education (in years) | ||||||||||
| Illiterate | 12 (12.8) | 7 (13.5) | 5 (11.9) | 1 | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) |
| 1–4 | 47 (50.0) | 28 (53.8) | 19 (45.2) | 0.938 | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 7 (87.5) | 3 (75.0) | 4 (100.0) |
| 5–8 | 13 (13.8) | 6 (11.5) | 7 (16.7) | 0.543 | 4 (66.7) | 2 (66.7) | 2 (66.7) | 1 (12.5) | 1 (25.0) | 0 (0.0) |
| ≥8 | 22 (23.4) | 11 (21.2) | 11 (26.2) | 0.642 | 2 (33.3) | 1 (33.3) | 1 (33.3) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) |
| Anatomical region of the bite | ||||||||||
| Upper limbs | 7 (6.9) | 3 (5.2) | 4 (9.1) | 0.438 | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) |
| Lower limbs | 95 (93.1) | 55 (94.8) | 40 (90.9) | 6 (100.0) | 3 (100.0) | 3 (100.0) | 8 (100.0) | 4 (100.0) | 4 (100.0) | |
| Time from bite to medical assistance (in hours) | ||||||||||
| ≤1 | 8 (11.4) | 3 (6.8) | 5 (19.2) | 1 | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) |
| 1–6 | 38 (54.3) | 23 (52.3) | 15 (57.7) | 0.268 | 6 (100.0) | 3 (100.0) | 3 (100.0) | 8 (100.0) | 4 (100.0) | 4 (100.0) |
| >6 | 24 (34.3) | 18 (18.2) | 6 (19.2) | 0.078 | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) |
Group A is the freeze-dried trivalent antivenom (FDTAV); Group B is available Bothrops, Bothrops-Lachesis and Bothrops-Crotalus AVs provided by the MoH (MoHA).