Le Roux, Gael, Richard, Virginie, Larcher, Gérald, Sinno-Tellier, Sandra, Labadie, Magali, de Haro, Luc, Descatha, Alexis, Institut de recherche en santé, environnement et travail (Irset), Université d'Angers (UA)-Université de Rennes (UR)-École des Hautes Études en Santé Publique [EHESP] (EHESP)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Structure Fédérative de Recherche en Biologie et Santé de Rennes ( Biosit : Biologie - Santé - Innovation Technologique ), Centre Antipoison et Toxicovigilance du Grand Ouest (Angers) (CAPTV Angers), Centre Hospitalier Universitaire d'Angers (CHU Angers), PRES Université Nantes Angers Le Mans (UNAM)-PRES Université Nantes Angers Le Mans (UNAM), Université d'Angers (UA), Direction des alertes et des vigilances sanitaires (DAVS), Agence nationale de sécurité sanitaire de l'alimentation, de l'environnement et du travail (ANSES), Centre antipoison et de toxicovigilance (Bordeaux) (CAPTV Bordeaux), CHU Bordeaux [Bordeaux], Centre antipoison et de toxicovigilance (Marseille) (CAPTV Marseille), Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Marseille (APHM), PRES Université Nantes Angers Le Mans (UNAM), Structure Fédérative de Recherche en Biologie et Santé de Rennes ( Biosit : Biologie - Santé - Innovation Technologique )-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-École des Hautes Études en Santé Publique [EHESP] (EHESP)-Université de Rennes 1 (UR1), and Université de Rennes (UNIV-RENNES)-Université de Rennes (UNIV-RENNES)-Université d'Angers (UA)
French PCC Research Group; International audience; Spiders are often wrongly designated as responsible for cutaneous eruptions. We aim to describe spider bites and the spider species implicated in metropolitan France. A retrospective observational study was conducted for all reported cases of spider bites from 2007 to 2018 extracted from the French Poison Control Centers (PCCs) information system, after exclusion of non-native spiders. We described identification of the spider, level of certainty of the bite, symptoms and severity of cases. 1194 cases of spider bites met the inclusion criteria. The average age of the patients was 36.9 +/- 19.8 years. Identification of the species or at least that a spider was implicated was only possible in 346 cases (29.0%). Loxosceles were involved in 53 cases (4.4%), Latrodectus in 46 cases (3.9%) and Cheiracanthium in 35 cases (2.9%). In one third of cases, the involved spider was not known to be present where the bite occurred. Where most of the patients (n = 1111, 93%) reported at least one cutaneous symptom, most of the symptoms were neurological. The bite was considered proven in only 242 cases (20%). Despite the efforts of arachnologists to educate the public, the fear of spiders is still alive in France, where spider bite is rare with low severity and often unproven.