Wasp stings cause near-fatal stroke in medical first: case study

If you need another reason to avoid getting stung by a wasp, here it is.

A 60-year-old man in China, who was stung four times on his head and back by wasps, went to the emergency room three days later with a headache, a stiff neck and swelling around the stings.

He was admitted to the hospital, where his condition worsened the next day. A CT scan didn’t reveal anything abnormal, but a lumbar puncture — also known as a spinal tap — revealed that the man had suffered a severe stroke as a result of the wasp stings.

The type of stroke is known as a subarachnoid hemorrhage, a medical emergency that requires immediate attention. About half of people who have an SAH die suddenly.

Of those who survive the initial stroke, about one-third die in the hospital, and another one-third are left with disabilities, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

Doctors believe the man’s SAH may have been initiated by the wasps’ venom, which could have caused a blood vessel to burst. After 14 days, the man was released from the hospital.

While this type of stroke has in the past been linked to bee stings, this is the first recorded instance of an SAH caused by wasps, the Daily Mail reports.

Doctors reported this case study in the June edition of the American Journal of Emergency Medicine to help emergency room physicians when they encounter patients stung by bees, wasps or hornets.

An SAH starts when bleeding occurs in the area between the brain and the membranes inside the skull that cover and protect the brain. An SAH is usually the result of a severe head injury (like a fall or auto accident) or a ruptured aneurysm.

The main symptom of an SAH is a sudden, severe headache, sometimes called a “thunderclap” headache because it strikes so quickly and is so intense.

Other symptoms of an SAH include a stiff neck, nausea, vomiting, confusion, dizziness, sudden weakness or numbness, seizures, muscle aches and vision changes.

Deaths from bee, wasp and hornet stings are rare and are usually the result of an allergic reaction, often referred to as anaphylactic shock.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that such deaths are increasing in the US.

From 2000 to 2017, the insects caused 1,109 deaths, and 80% of those killed were men.