Abstract： Objective To explore the mechanism and therapeutic effects of wet dressing with 50％ magnesium sulfate ( MgSO4 ) as a part of comprehensive treatment for wound resulted from pit viper bites in children.Methods A total of 61 children with pit-viper-bitten wound enrolled from May 2009 through May 2011 were divided into two groups,namely the comprehensive treatment group (n =31 cases) and the conventional treatment group (n =30 eases). In the comprehensive treatment group,50％ magnesium sulfate wet dressing applied to the swelling parts of body in the early stage in addition to the conventional treatment and topically bandaged once a day keeping wet with spraying saline on the top of dressing.Before the treatment and on the 1st day,the 3rd day and the 5th day of treatment,the values of myocardial enzyme and the circumference of swelling parts were recorded,and the differences were analyzed by t- test.The differences in rate of wound healing in one week between two groups were analyzed by chi-square test.Results Before the treatment,there was no statistical difference in clinical features between the two groups with different modes of treatment for the viper-bitten children (P ＞ 0.05 ). During comprehensive treatment,the values of myocardial enzyme and the circumference of swelling parts decreased more markedly than those in conventional treatment group ( P ＜ 0.05 ).The rates of wound healing in one week of two groups were 80.5％ and 56.6％ respectively.Conclusions The comprehensive treatment with adjuvant of 50％ MgSO4 for the viper-bitten children can effectively reduce the tissue damage caused by venom,and the swelling as well,restoring function of body and shortening the time for wound healing and preventing complications.