<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p> Tropical fresh water stingrays have become quite popular among amateur and professional aquarists due to their attractive appearance. However, the species may have a high life-threatening potential. Stingray intoxication is rare in Eastern Europe and there is no specific antivenin available. We present the first case of “rayism” - envenomation caused by sp. Reticulatus in Eastern Europe. The patient was a 63-year-old amateur aquarist, with a history of ischaemic heart disease and allergy to NSAIDs. He got stung while cleaning a stingray fish tank and was admitted to the department of clinical toxicology 40min following the incident, with symptoms of moderate intoxication: accentuated local toxic syndrome - mild bleeding at the sting site, worsening and excruciating (8- 9/10) pain in his left hand and forearm, feeling of “burning” in the arm, accompanying toxic symptoms - vertigo, malaise, fatigue, sweating and tightness in the chest. No antitoxin was available and the treatment plan included local aseptic treatment of the wound, anti- tetanus prophylaxis, fluoroquinolone-type antibiotic prophylaxis, antihistamine, a corticosteroid and i.v. infusions. Thermal therapy (immersing the arm in hot, 45℃ tap water) completely reduced the pain within 5 hours. Full recovery was achieved on the 3<sup>rd</sup> day after the exposure. A toxicologist should react adequately in the setting of a rare intoxication even when a specific antidote is not available. Thermal therapy proved to be effective in the case of stingray envenomation.</p></abstract>

Tropical fresh water stingrays have become quite popular among amateur and professional aquarists due to their attractive appearance. However, the species may have a high life-threatening potential. Stingray intoxication is rare in Eastern Europe and there is no specific antivenin available. We present the first case of “rayism” - envenomation caused by sp. Reticulatus in Eastern Europe. The patient was a 63-year-old amateur aquarist, with a history of ischaemic heart disease and allergy to NSAIDs. He got stung while cleaning a stingray fish tank and was admitted to the department of clinical toxicology 40min following the incident, with symptoms of moderate intoxication: accentuated local toxic syndrome - mild bleeding at the sting site, worsening and excruciating (8- 9/10) pain in his left hand and forearm, feeling of “burning” in the arm, accompanying toxic symptoms - vertigo, malaise, fatigue, sweating and tightness in the chest. No antitoxin was available and the treatment plan included local aseptic treatment of the wound, anti- tetanus prophylaxis, fluoroquinolone-type antibiotic prophylaxis, antihistamine, a corticosteroid and i.v. infusions. Thermal therapy (immersing the arm in hot, 45℃ tap water) completely reduced the pain within 5 hours. Full recovery was achieved on the 3rd day after the exposure. A toxicologist should react adequately in the setting of a rare intoxication even when a specific antidote is not available. Thermal therapy proved to be effective in the case of stingray envenomation.

A Case of “Rayism”- Tropical Stingray Intoxication with a Favorable Outcome

Journal of Biomedical and Clinical Research

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Tropical fresh water stingrays have become quite popular among amateur and professional aquarists due to their attractive appearance. However, the species may...

A Case of “Rayism”- Tropical Stingray Intoxication with a Favorable Outcome

Published Online: Dec 10, 2015

Page range: 53 - 55

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/jbcr-2015-0126

© 2015

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.