Acute Anuric Renal Failure After Pigmy Rattlesnake Bite

Abstract

Acute renal failure has been known to follow viper bites in up to 30% of patients, but we believe we have reported the first case in which anuric renal failure developed after the bite of a pigmy rattlesnake. Our patient's renal failure is thought to have been due to a combination of rhabdomyolysis and intrarenal thrombosis caused by DIC. Prompt surgical debridement should be offered to the victim of a bite by any poisonous snake, and antivenin should be administered to any patient with signs of systemic envenomation, with close monitoring for signs of allergic reactions.