The hematological parameters in children with scorpion sting

Abstract

Background Scorpion stings are common emergency events in Upper Egypt, with significant morbidity and mortality. We aimed to investigate the hematological parameter and their relation to the severity of envenomation in children presenting with scorpion stings. Methods The current study is an observational hospital-based case-control study that was carried out at the Emergency and Intensive Care Units, from January 2022 to December 2022. The hematological parameters were compared between these cases and those of controls. Results The study included 42 cases and 42 controls. The studied cases and those with moderate/severe envenomation had significantly higher total leucocyte count, absolute neutrophilic count (ANC), platelets count, neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR), d-dimer, and international normalized ratio (INR), compared with controls and those with mild envenomation, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that younger aged patients were more likely to suffer from severe scorpion envenomation compared with older aged ones (OR = 0.572, 95% confidence interval 0.356–0.919, P = 0.021), and patients with white blood cell (WBC) count greater than or equal to 11.6 were 7 times more likely to suffer from severe scorpion envenomation compared with those with WBC count less than 11.6 (OR = 75.607, 95% CI: 4.935–1158.258, P = 0.002). Conclusions Scorpion envenomation can cause many alterations in hematological parameters and platelet indices of affected victims. The use of these parameters to predict the severity of scorpion envenomation is simple, cheap, and easily applicable. Younger age and higher WBC count (≥11.6) were significantly independent predictors of severe envenomation. Further studies are warranted.