3 weeks ago
Bengaluru Doctors Diagnose Hidden Snakebite, Save Teen from Brain-Death
A 16-year-old boy became very sick one evening after dinner.
He had a bad stomach ache, threw up, and then became so weak he stopped moving and breathing on his own.
He was rushed to a hospital in Bengaluru, India, where doctors saw he was almost completely unresponsive.
Scans and tests showed nothing wrong, and doctors first thought it might be food poisoning.
Then doctors learned the boy had slept outside on his porch the night before.
They searched his body very carefully and found two tiny bite marks near his right little toe.
A snake had bitten him while he slept, and its venom slowly shut down his body.
Doctors quickly gave him special medicine called anti-snake venom.
Within hours, he began to move his eyes and breathe on his own again.
One week later, he went home healthy.
A 16-year-old boy was admitted to SPARSH Hospital in Bengaluru in a near brain-dead state with a Glasgow Coma Scale score of 3/15.
His condition was traced to an occult neurotoxic snakebite, with two faint fang marks found near the base of his right little toe.
He initially had severe abdominal pain and vomiting after dinner, leading doctors to suspect food poisoning, botulism, or an acute neurological syndrome.
After spotting the hidden bite marks, doctors administered targeted Polyvalent Anti-Snake Venom (ASV) therapy alongside neuro-critical care support.
Within hours he regained eye movements, facial expressions, limb reflexes, and independent breathing, and was discharged one week after ICU admission.
The case was flagged as a public health reminder to evaluate sudden abdominal pain with rapidly advancing muscle weakness for neurotoxic envenomation.
- Who
- A 16-year-old boy, treated by the critical care team at SPARSH Hospital, Sarjapur Road, led by Dr. Ramkumar Jayaprakash.
- What
- The teenager survived a condition mimicking brain death caused by an occult (hidden) neurotoxic snakebite and made a full functional recovery.
- Where
- SPARSH Hospital, Sarjapur Road, Bengaluru; the bite occurred while the boy slept on his home porch.
- When
- Exact dates are not specified; he was discharged one week after his ICU admission.
- Why
- The bite was inflicted silently during sleep by a nocturnal snake such as the Common Krait, and after doctors found the hidden fang marks, anti-snake venom therapy saved his life.
Key facts
- Hospital
- SPARSH Hospital, Sarjapur Road, Bengaluru
- Patient
- 16-year-old boy
- Glasgow Coma Scale on admission
- 3/15
- Cause
- Occult neurotoxic snakebite, likely by a Common Krait
- Bite marks found
- Two faint fang marks near the base of the right little toe
- Treatment
- Polyvalent Anti-Snake Venom (ASV) therapy and advanced neuro-critical care
- Initial suspected diagnoses
- Food poisoning, botulism, acute neurological syndromes
- Outcome
- Full recovery; discharged one week after ICU admission
Quotes
Dr. Ramkumar Jayaprakash
Head of Critical Care Medicine, SPARSH Hospital
“When a young patient arrives with absent brainstem reflexes and complete quadriplegia, every single second counts. Occult krait bites are notoriously deceptive because they are virtually painless and present initially as severe stomach ache, hiding the underlying neurotoxicity”
thehansindia.com
Sources
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