MODELING RISK FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH SNAKEBITE MORBIDITY USING MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS:A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY IN CHEMALINGOT IN BARINGO COUNTY.

Abstract

Snake bite envenomation is a major but neglected public health problem especially in resource poor rural areas. In Kenya, the burden of morbidity attributable to snakebite has been increasing in many areas. Chemalingot in Baringo County is one of the region in kenya where venomous snakes are common.This has resulted to cases of morbidity to go high due to victims inability to access timely and effective health care. The aim of the study was to model the main risk factors related to the morbidity of snakebite using a multivariate analytical framework, in an attempt to provide locally appropriate interventions. A retrospective cross-sectional research methodology was used and medical records of the identified dispensaries in Chemalingot were employed. Patient demographics and clinical outcomes were summarized in terms of descriptive statistics. To determine the predictors significantly correlated with morbidity after snakebite, the multivariate logistic regression analysis was used. In the results analysis, it was found that there was a morbidity of snakebites of 30.0%. The average age of adults with the disease is 19.26 years and the average length of stay in a hospital is 4 days. The rates of morbidity depended on the time of the bite, and those that occurred in the evening and night had higher rates of complications vs. Multivariate modeling indicated that prolonged stay in hospitals was significantly correlated with high morbidity with each day increasing chances by 9% . In addition, patients arriving to a health institution over 12 hours after the bite were triple likely to have morbidity than those who were presented to health center in less than 12 hours . The results demonstrate the importance of early treatment and available health care services to decrease the outcomes of the problem of snakebites. The study will be of immense importance in terms of providing evidence to the epidemiology of snakebites in Chemalingot and will also act as a basis of formulating specific intervention measures that will be directed at lessening morbidity among snakebite victims who are rural poor people.