Anti-venom-induced myelopathy in a semipoisonous snakebite

Abstract

A 40-year-old woman developed myelopathy manifesting as Brown Sequard syndrome after administration of Antivenom (polyvalent enzyme-refined equine globulin supposed to neutralise 0.6mg of standard cobra venom, 0.45 mg of standard krait venom, 0.6 mg of standard Russel's viper venom and 0.45 mg of saw scaled viper venom, manufactured by Serum Institute of India, Pune, India). It was concluded to be an immunological inflammation of the spinal cord after ruling out hematomyelia on imaging. The necessity of antivenom in semipoisonous snake bites have been addressed further in the article. © 2004 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.