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Assessing and managing spider and scorpion envenomation
Stephen McGhee Clinical instructor, University of South Florida College of Nursing, Tampa, Florida, US
Aaron Weiner Contributing faculty, Walden University, Minneapolis, Minnesota, US
Alan Finnegan Defence professor of nursing, Royal Centre for Defence Medicine, Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust
Constance Visovsky Associate dean for student affairs, University of South Florida College of Nursing, Tampa, Florida, US
John M Clochesy Professor and dean of the doctoral programme, University of South Florida College of Nursing, Tampa, Florida, US
Brian Graves Assistant dean of the masters programme, University of South Florida College of Nursing, Tampa, Florida, US
Stephen McGhee and colleagues describe what emergency nurses need to know about poisonous bites and stings, and why they are becoming more common
Envenomation by spiders or scorpions is a public health problem in many parts of the world and is not isolated to the tropics and subtropics. Spiders and scorpions can be unintentionally transported globally, and keeping them as pets is becoming more popular, so envenomation can occur anywhere. Emergency nurses should be prepared to assess and treat patients who present with a bite or sting. This article gives an overview of the signs, symptoms and treatment of envenomation by species of arachnids that are clinically significant to humans.
Emergency Nurse. 23, 7, 32-39. doi: 10.7748/en.23.7.32.s28
Correspondence Peer reviewThis article has been subject to double-blind review and has been checked using antiplagiarism software
Conflict of interestNone declared
Received: 17 August 2015
Accepted: 28 September 2015
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