Intracerebral Hemorrhage Secondary to Scorpion Toxin in the Northwest of Argentina; A Case Report

Abstract

Scorpionism is the clinical picture resulting from the inoculation of scorpion venom. It is considered a major public health problem, especially in countries with low resources and tropical or subtropical climate. Poisoning can be fatal especially in the first hours due to respiratory and / or cardiovascular collapse. The compromise of the central nervous system (CNS) is infrequent but varied and complex, being able to be triggered due to multiple and different neurotoxic properties of the toxin. We report here a severe case of poisoning with cardiovascular and neurological compromise in an endemic region of Argentina. After cardiorespiratory stabilization, neurological deterioration is detected secondary to intracerebral hemorrhage that required surgery and multimodal neuromonitoring. The outcome was fatal due to multiple neurological and systemic complications. Scorpion sting poisoning is a true neurologic and neurosurgical life-threatening emergency.