Portal latinoamericano de toxicología
Scorpion-sting antivenom has huge US price tag
15 November, 2011
A Steep Price for Scorpion Sting Relief. myfoxphoenix.com. 15 Nov 2011. Antivenin for scorpion stings was approved by the FDA back in August, but doctors and patients are now discovering the fast acting serum comes at a very steep price.Metro Phoenix hospitals are billing over $12,000 per vial of the antivenin, approved to help people of all ages quickly recover from severe reaction from scorpion stings.A typical treatment might involve 3 to 5 vials – over $60,000. The drug company says it’s expensive but it works. Hospitals are now advising patients of the costs before beginning treatment.
Anascorp
Children and infants are the most likely to experience severe stings.
"It only takes about a half an hour usually to work and the patient, all the signs that they’re having from the scorpion sting basically go away in about half and hour from the scorpion sting," said Allison Young, a pharmacist at Gilbert Hospital.
Stings by the Centruroides scorpion can cause difficulty breathing, blurred vision and muscle twitching. Untreated cases can be fatal.
In Arizona, 8,000 people are stung by scorpions a year.
Watch video: UA Scorpion Antivenom Collaboration Gains FDA Approval . August 8, 2011.
A cross-border collaboration and 12 years of clinical trials conducted by the UA at 27 Arizona hospitals and one hospital in Nevada has resulted in the FDA approval of a drug developed in Mexico for the treatment of patients suffering the effects of a scorpion sting.
"It only takes about a half an hour usually to work and the patient, all the signs that they’re having from the scorpion sting basically go away in about half and hour from the scorpion sting," said Allison Young, a pharmacist at Gilbert Hospital.
Stings by the Centruroides scorpion can cause difficulty breathing, blurred vision and muscle twitching. Untreated cases can be fatal.
In Arizona, 8,000 people are stung by scorpions a year.
Watch video: UA Scorpion Antivenom Collaboration Gains FDA Approval . August 8, 2011.
A cross-border collaboration and 12 years of clinical trials conducted by the UA at 27 Arizona hospitals and one hospital in Nevada has resulted in the FDA approval of a drug developed in Mexico for the treatment of patients suffering the effects of a scorpion sting.