Scorpion stings are a public health problem in Morocco, especially among children, who experience the most severe cases. Epidemiological and clinical findings on scorpion stings in Fez, Morocco, were evaluated in this investigation. Of 163 cases that required medical attention, 62.6% were male children. The mean age of patients was 4.8 ± 3.4 years. The mean time between stings and first medical attention was 3.36 ± 2.5 hours. Almost all cases occurred in the summer (94%) and extremities represented the most frequent sting sites (86.5%). Local pain, hyperemia, scarification, vomiting, sweating, restlessness, tachycardia and tachypnea were the observed clinical symptoms. Regarding severity, 55.2% of patients belonged to class III, followed by class II (26.4%) and class I (18.4%). None of our patients received antivenom; however, all of them were treated symptomatically depending on clinical manifestations.

Scorpion stings comprise a serious problem throughout the globe, especially in regions where they are more frequent. In Morocco, Beni Mellal is one of the provinces most affected by this burden. This study aimed to trace the epidemiological profile of scorpion stings in Beni Mellal in order to improve patient care and prevent both morbidity and mortality. Our work is a retrospective study of scorpion stings based on medical charts of Beni Mellal. From 2002 to 2007, 8,340 cases were registered in this province with an average incidence of 1.36‰. The stings were more frequent in summer months, particularly July and August, and between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. (59.8%). The average age of victims was 26.54 ± 18.42 years. Children were affected in 30.3% of the cases. Of all registered cases, 67.3% of the patients received medical aid in less than an hour after the sting. The envenomation rate (Class II and Class III) was 12.4% and the overall case-fatality rate was 0.42% with a mortality rate of 0.005‰. Statistical analysis of the various studied factors revealed a significant connection among the envenomation class, patient age and evolution.

The present study aimed at verifying the impact of a Moroccan strategy against scorpion stings and specifically at identifying the epidemiological features of patients envenomed or just stung by scorpions. It included 11,907 patients from El Kelaa des Sraghna Province, Morocco, who were evaluated over five years (2001-2005). Most stings occurred during the hot period and mainly at night. The average incidence was 3.2 per 1,000 inhabitants; patients <15 years accounted for 34%, and the envenomation rate was 12%. Average lethality rate was 0.7%. Our work evaluated the efficacy of the adopted strategy based on indicators of follow-up, morbidity and lethality due to scorpion sting and envenomation.

The present study aims to elucidate the risk factors involved in deaths caused by scorpion envenomation. A retrospective study was carried out in the province of Kelâa des Sraghna from 2003 to 2004. The hospital charts of scorpion envenomation cases treated in the Essalama Hospital in Kelâa des Sraghna were exhaustively analyzed. Our study contains 31 cases of death among 470 hospitalization cases. Most stings had occurred during the hot period peaking in July and August (54.6%). Moreover, the scorpion stings occurred at night in 60.1% of the cases, between 6:00 pm and 6:00 am. In addition, all age groups were affected by envenomation, with a higher frequency in children aged less than 15 years (68.3%). The envenomation rate (class II + class III) was 70.9%. The statistical analysis of the data shows that being less than 15 years old, having been stung during the night and belonging to class III are risk factors that aggravate vital prognosis of hospitalized patients. Furthermore, clinical severity factors, elicited by relative risk analysis, are cardiovascular, respiratory and neurological vital distresses, with relative risks of 14.84, 11.92 and 48.33, respectively. The results of our study clearly displayed the severity and extent of the scorpion envenomation problem. Thus, great attention must be paid to this region of Morocco by the national health authorities.

The present study aimed at verifying the impact of a Moroccan strategy against scorpion stings and, specifically, at identifying the epidemiological features of the patients envenomed or just stung by scorpions. The investigation included 4089 patients from a province of Morocco which were evaluated over three years (2001, 2002 and 2003). Most stings occurred during the hot period and mainly at night (between 6:00 p.m. and 12:00 p.m.). The average incidence was 2.8‰, the average age of the patients was 26.7±18.2 years, and the envenomation rate was 6.7%. Mortality rate was 0.05‰, and average lethality rate was 0.7%. Analysis of variance showed that young age, symptoms at admission, and long time elapsed between sting and admission were correlated with poor outcome. Comparison among data of the three years revealed an increasing number of reported cases and decreasing morbidity and mortality.