Clinical manifestations and managements in jellyfish envenomation; A systematic review

The phylum Cnidarians have over nine thousand species that approximately، one hundred species are dangerous for humans. Annually، a large number of deaths were reported due to jellyfish stings. The manifestations depend on their species and kind of venoms، and include the local and systemic manifestations. A number of methods and compounds were used and under investigation for management of injuries with jellyfishes. Due to the lack of an integrated systematic review، the current study was done. The PubMed data bank was searched for the term “Jellyfish”. A total of 1677 papers were found. These papers were divided into three categories: medical، biomedical and biotechnological fields. The medical category was further divided into three subcategories comprisingsystemic manifestations، cutaneous manifestations and treatments for the stings of jellyfishes. The biomedical category was further subdivided into genomics، proteomics، and biology of venoms، mechanisms of actions and products of biomedical significance. In this part of systematic review، the medical aspects of injuries with jellyfishes were evaluated. The clinical manifestations in jellyfish envenomation depend on their species and the nature of venoms. The most common clinical manifestations of jellyfish stings are cutaneous presentations like urticasia، erythema، swelling، vesicles and severe dermonectoric manifestations. Systemic manifestationswere seen in the stings of box jellyfishes، Portuguese man-of-war and in Irukandji syndrome. The most common recommendations for jellyfish envenomation managements include decreasing the local effects of venom، prevention of the venomous nematocysts release، and Controlling of systemic reactions. Application of commercial vinegar (4 - 6% acetic acid)، hot water immersion (HWI) (42 ° C for 20 minutes)، ice packs، sea water rinsing for inactivating nematocysts، administration of topical and parenteral analgesics، corticosteroids، and antihistamines are the basics for treatments of jellyfish envenomations. The Anti-venom for jellyfishes can counteract the effects of venom. The cutaneous manifestations in jellyfish envenomation are the most common clinical presentation. There was no any conducted double-blind and controlled clinical trials for the management of jellyfish envenomation، the application of commercial vinegar (4 - 6% acetic acid)، hot water، ice packs and sea water rinsing are the fundamentals of treatments in the stings of the jellyfishes.