The American journal of emergency medicine
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
A randomized paired comparison trial of cutaneous treatments for acute jellyfish (Carybdea alata) stings.
The objective of the study was to compare cutaneous treatments (heat, papain and vinegar) for acute jellyfish (Carybdea alata) stings. Healthy adult volunteer subjects received a single-tentacle jellyfish sting on each forearm. One forearm was treated with hot-water immersion (40-41 degrees C). ⋯ At t = 20 minutes (the end of the study period), the differences between hot-water and comparison group VAS scores were 0.2 cm versus 1.8 cm, respectively. The mean difference between hot-water and comparison treatments was 1.6 cm (95% confidence interval, 0.9 to 2.3). This study suggests that the most efficacious initial treatment for C alata jellyfish envenomation is hot-water immersion to the afflicted site.