Introduction:

Snakebites continue to be a public health problem, especially in tropical countries like Colombia.

Objetive:

To characterize the snakebite cases attended by a new poison center in Medellin, Colombia.

Methodology:

A descriptive, retrospective study was carried out, reviewing the information of the Center’s database from January 1st to December 31st, 2016.

Results:

There were 117 cases of ophidian accidents, affecting 93 men (79%) and 24 women (21%), with a median age of 32 years (range: 2 to 82 years). The follow-up of the cases could be done in 55 of the 117 accidents (47%), and complications were described in 18 of those 55 (33%) patients. The most commonly reported complication was a pruritic maculopapular rash that was associated to serum administration, without differences between the several brands of anti-ophidian serum used. The death of one patient (0.85%) was documented. The genus Bothrops caused most of the accidents.

Discussion:

Our results agree with previously published data.