SEVERE hemolysis and secondary renal failure due to a scorpion sting was observed in a patient—a complication that, to our knowledge, has not been well recognized by Western medicine.
Some scorpion venoms are hemotoxic and may cause severe hemolysis.1,3 The toxicity of the Khuzistan scorpion has also been demonstrated.4
The yellowish scorpion responsible for the sting of our patient could be one of the three yellow groups of Khuzistan scorpions—Buthus, Cosmobuthus, and Hemiscorpius—of which Buthus sauloci is the most common, most frequently found in houses, and most likely the one that had stung our patient.
Report of a Case
A 28-year-old woman was stung by a yellowish scorpion at Ramhormoz, Iran, situated 120 km northeast of Ahwaz in southern Iran while sleeping on her bedroom floor. Twenty-four hours after the sting, the patient started passing reddish urine, became breathless during the slightest exertion, and was admitted to