Medicine
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This repository contains the published and unpublished research of the Faculty of Medicine by the staff members of the faculty
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Item Estimates of disease burden due to land-snake bite in Sri Lankan hospitals(SEAMEO Regional Tropical Medicine and Public Health Project, 2005) Kasturiratne, A.; Pathmeswaran, A.; Fonseka, M.M.D.; Lalloo, D.G.; Brooker, S.; de Silva, H.J.Snake bite is a common cause of hospital admission in Sri Lanka. Despite this, there have been no countrywide studies or national estimates of disease burden due to snake bites in Sri Lankan hospitals. We assessed the disease burden due to snake bite in our hospitals and estimated the frequency of admissions due to bites by different snake species. Sri Lanka was divided into four zones based on climate and topography. Hospital morbidity and mortality data, which are available on an administrative district basis, were collated for the four zones. A survey of opinion among specialist physicians (the Delphi technique) was used to estimate the proportion of bites by different species, and requirements for anti-venom (AV) and intensive care facilities for management of snake bites in hospitals in each of the four zones. A study of hospital admissions due to snake bites in seven selected hospitals was also performed to validate the opinion survey. There was a clear difference in the incidence of hospital admissions due to snake bites in the different zones. Estimates of hospital admissions due to bites by different species also varied considerably between zones. These trends corresponded to estimates of requirements of AV and other supportive health care. Health care planning using data based on environmental information, rather than merely on political boundaries, could lead to targeted distribution of AV and intensive care requirements to manage snake bites.Item Envenoming due to snake bite during pregnancy(Oxford University Press, 2002) Seneviratne, S.L.; de Silva, C.E.; Fonseka, M.M.D.; Pathmeswaran, A.; Gunatilake, S.B.; de Silva, H.J.No Abstract AvailableItem Lack of myocardial damage following Sri Lankan Russell's viper and hump-nosed viper bites(Sri Lanka Medical Association, 1999) Seneviratne, S.L.; Gunatilake, S.B.; Fonseka, M.M.D.; Adhikari, A.A.D.N.W.; de Silva, H.J.INTRODUCTION: Cardiac effects following the bite of Burmese Russell's vipers and European vipers are well known. The question whether envenomation caused by Sri Lankan viper bites results in myocardial damage remains largely unanswered. The aim of this prospective study was to investigate whether myocardial damage occurs after Sri Lankan viper bites, using a highly specific and sensitive marker, troponin T. METHODS: 45 patients admitted after a definite viper bite [Russell's viper (RV), n = 13, hump-nosed viper (HNV), n = 32] were studied with regard to cardiac symptoms, ECG changes, and troponin T levels. There were no admissions with bites of other types of Sri Lankan vipers during the study period. RESULTS: Cardiac symptoms were present in a number of patients following the bite. Two patients had transient ECG changes. However, troponin T levels were not elevated in any of them. COMMENT: Myocardial damage does not seem to be an important feature of Sri Lankan Russell's and hump-nosed viper bites. This may be because of venom heterogeneity in vipers, that is based on their geographical distribution.