Objective:To classify and characterize spider bites among inquiries to the National Poison Information Center (NPIC) between1995 and2004, in terms of the epidemiology and clinical symptomatology.Methods: Clinical and epidemiological data were obtained from theNPIC’s patient records. The following information was recorded for each spider bite: demographics, circumstances of the bite, and local and systemic effects.Results: A total of82 cases were reported. The accidents were mostly seen during August. The gender distribution was59.76%male, 37.20% female, and2.44% unknown and the20-29 age group presented more spider bites. Most of the cases were in the Central Anatolia, Marmara, Mediterranean, and Black Sea regions. Local symptoms were observed in60.87% of the cases, including local pain, edema, redness, itching, debris, burning, and numbness. Systemic symptoms were observed such as nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, lethargy, anxiety, weakness, somnolence, dyspnea, hypertension, hypotension, and hyperthermia.Conclusions: In conclusion, these findings emphasize the presence of medically important spider species in Turkey. All patients and especially pediatric patients should be admitted to the hospital. Identification of spider species may be considered a useful clinical and epidemiological tool in determining the incidence and risk of spider bites.
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