Hornet Stings

Hornet Stings

The insect order Hymenoptera consists of many medically important groups of stinging insects—Apoidea (bees), Vespoidea (paper wasps, hornets and yellow jackets commonly referred as wasps  and Formicidae (ants) . Hymenoptera venoms are concentrated and highly complicated mixtures of biochemically active agents . Though allergic manifestations to Hymenoptera stings are well documented, the complication of acute renal failure (ARF) is rare . Severe reactions to ‘Hymenoptera’ stings are generally attributed to allergic mechanisms. In cases of multiple stings, severe reactions and even death may result from the toxic actions of venom . ARF results mostly from toxic or ischaemic acute tubular necrosis (ATN) in a setting of haemolysis, rhabdomyolysis or both. Rarely, it occurs as a direct nephrotoxic effect of venom  or from acute allergic interstitial nephritis (AIN) from hypersensitivity reaction to venom . Besides renal impairment, other systemic complications such as liver impairment, respiratory and cardiac impairments have also been reported . Here, we report three cases of ARF followed by multiple hornet stings during the month of August in 2010.


Last Updated on: Nov 26, 2024

Global Scientific Words in Immunology & Microbiology