In BMJ Case Reports, doctors warn of late cardiac effects from multiple bee stings. A 55-year-old Indian has just paid the price.
Bee stings can sometimes take a dramatic turn, and even long after the incident. This is what Indian doctors reveal to us in the journal BMJ Case Reports. Inside they describe the case of a healthy 55-year-old Indian man who developed serious heart problems several weeks after being attacked by a swarm of bees.
This misadventure begins when the man walks in a forest. Suddenly, a group of bees attacks him. Result, more than 50 bites on the whole body and an admission to the hospital. But the 50-year-old presents a non-alarming clinical picture. He had several blisters on his face, was out of breath and said he was extremely tired.
A patient with no cardiac history
He admittedly had several blisters on his face, was out of breath and said he was extremely tired. But nothing to worry about for the medical team, especially since after treatment, his condition is improving. He is therefore authorized to leave the establishment with, for prescription, an anti-inflammatory drug. An exit all the more justified for the doctors as the patient had no history of heart problems. And his heart tests were normal, the authors point out.
Except that about three weeks later, the man is back in the hospital. This time he suffers from a dangerously slow heartbeat, and repeated fainting spells. Worse, the patient finds himself in a situation of cardiac arrest. In short, he is very close to death.
Significant amount of venom
The doctors indeed managed to save him thanks to the implantation of a temporary pacemaker (pacemarker). The device was later replaced with a permanent one. Thus, his condition improved and he was finally able to return home.
Faced with this unprecedented allergic reaction, the medical team hypothesizes that the man has developed Kounis syndrome. It results in acute coronary events. “In this case, the origin of its late onset could be due to a large quantity of bee venom in its body”, she specifies.
The other trail of a flower’s nectar
The other explanation on the table is that the bees consumed the nectar of rhododendrons or azaleas, a flower that contains grayanotoxins, known to slow the heart rate.
These late cardiac effects of bee venom have not been previously reported. “This publication therefore highlights the need to consider cardiac complications in patients with multiple bee stings and the need for urgent action to prevent this type of life-threatening reaction,” they conclude.
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