If acute paralysis and respiratory arrest is not immediately recognized and appropriately treated, anoxic brain injury or death will result. The prognosis is generally excellent, unless significant hypoxia has occurred. The main pitfall is failure to recognize the patient's inability to maintain a patent airway and adequate respirations, leading to a failure to provide airway support and supportive treatment until the toxin has worn off. Respiratory failure and lethal hypotension due to blue-ringed octopus and tetrodotoxin envenomation observed and counteracted in animal models. Medicine is a constantly changing science and not all therapies are clearly established.
New research changes drug and treatment therapies daily.
However, as medical science is constantly changing and human error is always possible , the authors, editors, and publisher or any other party involved with the publication of this article do not warrant the information in this article is accurate or complete, nor are they responsible for omissions or errors in the article or for the results of using this information. The reader should confirm the information in this article from other sources prior to use. In particular, all drug doses, indications, and contraindications should be confirmed in the package insert. Octopus Envenomations Please email us with any comments you have on our new chapter format.