When Venom Meets the Heart: A Rare Case of Scorpion Sting-Induced Acute Myocardial Infarction

• Published in: Curēus (Palo Alto, CA) Vol. 15; no. 9
• Main Authors: Koshy, Preethy, Chavan, Gajanan, Gadkari, Charuta, Dubey, Shubham
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Palo Alto Cureus Inc 08.09.2023; Cureus
• Subjects: Blood pressure; Cardiology; Case reports; Dehydrogenases; Edema; Electrocardiography; Emergency medical care; Emergency Medicine; Fatalities; Heart attacks; Higher education; Histamine; Hospitals; Hypertension; Kinases; Nervous system; Neurotoxicity; Peptides; Venom
• ISSN: 2168-8184; 2168-8184
• DOI: 10.7759/cureus.44886

Scorpion sting cases are everyday encounters in the Emergency Department (ED). However, scorpion sting-induced systemic manifestations are rarely seen. Signs and symptoms of envenomation involve the central nervous system, stimulation of the autonomic nervous system and rarely respiratory and heart failure leading to death. Cardiovascular manifestations are particularly prominent following stings by the Indian red scorpion. This case report is of an 18-year-old male patient who presented to ED with complaints of scorpion sting. Twelve lead electrocardiography (ECG) done was suggestive of acute inferior wall myocardial infarction with raised cardiac markers. He also had autonomic dysfunction in the form of hypertension, hypothermia and priapism. He was treated with an alpha-blocker, dual antiplatelets and analgesics. ECG changes reverted to normal the next day, and he was discharged. So, the anticipation of life-threatening complications of scorpion stings plays a vital role in the treatment and prognosis of patients presenting to ED.