Introduction:

In Colombia, around 5000 cases of snakebites are reported annually, producing a clinical poisoning whose neutralization depends on heterologous immunoglobulins. Commercially, second-generation complete immunoglobulins and third-generation fabotherapies can be found; however, their differences are unknown to many physicians.

Objective:

To present the main pharmacokinetic characteristics by comparing the different generations of antivenoms, as well as the frequency of side effects.

Materials and Methods:

A literature search was conducted in databases using a combination of descriptors and Mesh terms, in English and Spanish. Pharmacokinetic parameters were compared in preclinical studies and side effects in clinical studies.

Results:

From the researchers analyzed, we found that the main pharmacokinetic differences are a consequence of the size of the immunoglobulin fraction, so the fabotherapic have a greater distribution to the tissues and a shorter half-life, compared with the complete immunoglobulins. At a clinical level, studies were found that showed higher to lower presentation of side effects to complete immunoglobulins, followed by antivenoms F(ab´)2 and Fab respectively.

Conclusion:

There are big pharmacological differences between the generations of antivenoms, which are exposed in this document as a practical tool to optimize the adequate pharmacological treatment in snakebite.

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