Level of knowledge about poisonous accidents due to loxoscelism in inhabitants of Arequipa, Peru, 2019

• Autores: Martinez, Wendy, Amarista, Manuel
• Formato: artículo
• Fecha de Publicación: 2023
• Institución: Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia
• Repositorio: Revistas - Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia
• Lenguaje: español
• OAI Identifier: oai:revistas.upch.edu.pe:article/5553
• Enlace del recurso: https://revistas.upch.edu.pe/index.php/STV/article/view/5553
• Nivel de acceso: acceso abierto
• Materia: Loxosceles; arañas del rincón; conocimiento; Arequipa; recluse spiders; knowledge; aranhas-reclusas-castanhas; conhecimento

In Peru, the venom inoculated by the bite of spiders of the genus Loxosceles represents a public health problem due to the clinical damage it causes in people and the number of reported cases. Since 2016, the department of Arequipa has ranked first in reported cases at the national level. The objective was to determine the score or optimal level of knowledge about accidents caused by loxoscelism (NOCACL) of the population of Arequipa for 2019. The study was observational, descriptive and cross-sectional. Six variables were considered: name of the province/district; recognition of the genus Loxosceles as poisonous; knowledge of the symptoms caused by the spider bite; knowledge of the care measures to be taken in case of a bite; recognition of the types of spider habitats within the domicile; and knowledge of the environmental control measures to avoid the presence of the spider within the domicile. Based on the answers to the questions proposed in the National Survey of Budgetary Programs (ENAPRES), a score was created to define the NOCACL. The data were processed with Stata software (version 17) and descriptive statistics were applied. The results showed that 65% recognize the spider as venomous; furthermore, 62.96% recognize it in urban areas and 69.96% in rural areas. It was also observed that there was a significant number of inhabitants who recognize some symptoms, health care in case of a bite, the habitat within their domiciles and the control measures to prevent bites. However, the calculated score (NOCACL) showed that the level of knowledge was, for the most part, "very inadequate" for all provinces of the department. Therefore, it is recommended to establish as a priority the design of a health education strategy to mitigate this public health problem.