Table 1.
Epidemiology of patients presenting to an emergency department and those admitted as an inpatient after a snakebite, USA 2016
| All patients presenting to emergency department after a snakebite | Patients admitted as an inpatient after a snakebite | P value | |
| n (% total animal encounters) | 11 138 | 2423 (22) | |
| Age category (years) | |||
| 0–17 | 2421 (22) | 384 (16) | 0.001 |
| 18–44 | 4173 (37) | 910 (38) | |
| 45–64 | 3211 (29) | 792 (33) | |
| 65–74 | 942 (8) | 235 (10) | |
| 75–84 | 330 (3) | 84 (3) | |
| >85 | 60 (1) | 18 (1) | |
| Male (%) | 7213 (65) | 1582 (65) | 0.8 |
| Region | |||
| Northeast | 115 (1) | <10* | <0.0001 |
| Midwest | 756 (7) | 143 (6) | |
| South | 9079 (82) | 1843 (76) | |
| West | 1188 (11) | 434 (18) | |
| Rural county (%) | 3792 (34) | 702 (29) | 0.02 |
| Weekend (%) | 3592 (32) | 789 (33) | 0.8 |
| Season (%) | |||
| Winter | 267 (2) | 50 (2) | 0.3 |
| Spring | 2463 (22) | 501 (21) | |
| Summer | 5558 (50) | 1169 (48) | |
| Fall | 2851 (26) | 704 (29) | |
| Payor data (%) | |||
| Medicare | 1637 (15) | 424 (18) | 0.04 |
| Medicaid | 2223 (20) | 421 (17) | |
| Private insurance | 4433 (40) | 962 (40) | |
| Self-pay | 2058 (18) | 420 (17) | |
| No charge | 27 (0) | 14 (1) | |
| Other | 758 (7) | 183 (8) | |
| Household income compared with the patient’s zip code (%) | |||
| 0–25th | 4337 (39) | 881 (36) | 0.1 |
| 26th–50th | 3255 (29) | 683 (28) | |
| 51st–75th | 2089 (19) | 549 (23) | |
| 76th–100th | 1457 (13) | 309 (13) | |
| Anatomic location of injury (%) | |||
| Head | 128 (1) | 67 (3) | 0.01 |
| Neck | 29 (0) | – | |
| Thorax | 51 (0) | – | |
| Abdomen, pelvis, genitalia | 47 (0) | – | |
| Shoulder or upper arm | 118 (1) | – | |
| Elbow or forearm | 610 (5) | 90 (4) | |
| Wrist, hand, finger | 4884 (44) | 787 (32) | |
| Hip or thigh | 38 (0) | 25 (1) | |
| Knee or lower leg | 1751 (16) | 903 (37) | |
| Ankle or foot | 3351 (30) | 507 (21) | |
| Multiple body regions | 129 (1) | 44 (2) | |
| Type of snake | |||
| Rattlesnake | 2067 (19) | 983 (41) | <0.0001 |
| Coral snake | 123 (1) | 38 (2) | |
| Taipan | <10* | – | |
| Cobra | 20 (0) | <10* | |
| North or South American snake | 1203 (11) | 392 (16) | |
| Australian snake | – | – | |
| Asian or African snake | <10* | <10* | |
| Other snake | 2634 (24) | 541 (22) | |
| Unspecified venomous snake | 5080 (46) | 459 (19) | |
| Circumstances of bite | |||
| Accidental | 10 692 (96) | 2360 (97) | 0.06 |
| Intentional self-harm | <10* | – | 1.0 |
| Assault | 19 (0) | <10* | 0.2 |
| Unspecified intent | 461 (4) | 58 (2) | 0.02 |
| Fatalities (%) | <10* | – | 1.0 |
*Values less than 10 are not reported in accordance with the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) data use agreement.