Designing the Minimum Data Set for National Scorpion Sting Registry in Iran.

Background: Scorpion stings are one of the major medical problems in tropical and subtropical regions of underdeveloped countries, causing several complications including severe local skin reactions, renal, neurological, cardiovascular, and respiratory complications, and sometimes death. The present study attempted to develop a minimum data set for a national registry of scorpion stings.

Methods: This study was conducted from 2022 to 2023 in two phases. First, information relevant to the data elements was extracted from scientific and medical databases such as PubMed Central/Medline, Embase, Web of Science, SID, and Cochrane Library. In the second step, a Delphi questionnaire was developed using the information obtained in the first step and given to five experts. Two Delphi steps were used to determine the minimum data set for scorpion stings. Data analysis in both steps was performed using descriptive statistics in SPSS software (version 22).

Results: The number of data elements was 124 items in eight sections, including demographic information, scorpion characteristics, time and place of sting data, patient history, clinical signs and symptoms, medicine, tests, admission, and discharge information.

Conclusion: The design of the minimum data set of scorpion stings can help in timely access to medical records, registration of information related to patient care, and patient follow-up. By ensuring continuous care for patients and recording their information in a valid database, communication among care providers can be enhanced. This approach also allows for analysis of care effectiveness for patient and the broader community affected by scorpion stings.