Abstract
Egyptian cobra (Naja haje) is an extremely poisonous snake found in the Nile valley, Egypt. Fatal attacks of this snake to inhabitants have been reported exclusively, which indicates the need for extensive studies on this venom and its toxic effects. The present study was conducted to find out the difference between the toxic effects of three different sublethal doses of the Egyptian cobra venom on some clinical chemistry parameters as well as thyroid hormones with relation to the time factor. Serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), total bilirubin (T.BIL.), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), cholesterol (CHOL.), glucose (GLU.), and inorganic phosphorus (PHO sub(4)) were increased significantly, while albumin (ALB.) and calcium (CA) were significantly decreased 30 and 60 minutes post-envenomation. Serum triiodothyronine (Total T3) and thyroxin (Total T4) levels were lowered significantly, whereas thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) was elevated 15, 30, and 60 minutes after snake venom injection. In conclusion, envenomation with Egyptian cobra venom produced significant changes in the tested clinical chemistry parameters which can be used as biomarkers for monitoring the pathophysiological alterations of many vital organs of envenomated victims. The changes of many tested parameters were found to be dose and time related.