School of Medicine

Stingray injuries result in thousands of emergency department visits annually. This study aimed to assess the complication rate and outcome of field treatment with hot water immersion. This was an on-site, prospective, observational study. Subjects were enrolled after having been stung by a stingray. A trained researcher obtained the following information: age, sex, health conditions and medications, and wound description. The efficacy of hot water immersion on pain was recorded. Patients were contacted on post-injury days 3, 7, and 14 for follow up. 22 subjects were included. No obvious foreign bodies were observed in wounds. 10 subjects were treated with hot water immersion and povidone-iodine, 12 with hot water immersion alone. Ongoing symptoms or complications were notes at 3-day follow-up in 6 of 22 subjects (27.3%). One subject was diagnosed with cellulitis on post-sting day 8, and was treated with antibiotics. Ongoing symptoms or complications were reported more commonly in patients treated with hot water and povidone-iodine compared with those treated with hot water alone (p=0.056). There was a significant difference in wound size between those with and without ongoing symptoms at 3-day follow-up (p=0.0102). No wounds less than 1 cm developed any complications. Average duration of water immersion was 73.6 minutes (range 35-145 minutes). Mean pain score pre-treatment was 7.36 and post treatment was 2.18, with an average decrease of 5.18 (95% CI 4.22-6.15). Conclusion: stingray injuries responded well to hot water immersion for pain control. Skin and soft tissue infection was diagnosed in 1 of 22 patients (4.55%).