Prevención y manejo de mordeduras por serpientes

background: the right approach to snake bites is a problem for cuban doctors providing international aid. objective: to develop a reference material on prevention and management of snakebites. development: more than 100 articles on the subject were reviewed and were used 37. a consultation document was developed to assist practitioners in the prevention, diagnosis, first line of treatment and proper management of snakebites. aspects such as: identification of behaviors, habitat of snakes, determination of the probable poisoning type according to clinical manifestations of the patient, establishment of a group of preventive measures and a standard protocol for cases management were included. conclusions: most authors coincide with poisoning by snakes are a worldwide serious health problem, in the third-world countries which are of higher risk, the mismanagement of cases and the absence of antidotes come together many times, prevention is the cornerstone.