Clinical, Laboratory and Prognosis Evaluations of Our Mushroom Poisoning Cases

OBJECTIVE: Mushroom poisoning may cause diverse clinical presentations ranging from mild gastrointestinal symptoms to fulminant hepatic failure requiring liver transplantation. It may lead to high mortality if not intervened. Toxic wild mushrooms usually grow up in spring and autumn and poisoning by these mushrooms occur mostly in these seasons. The aim of this study was to evaluate demographics, clinical features and prognosis in a large mushroom poisoning case series.

MATERIAL and METHODS: In this study, the demographics, clinical and laboratory findings, treatment methods and prognosis of 84 mushroom poisoning cases were evaluated retrospectively from their medical records.

RESULTS: The mean age of the 84 cases (52 women, 32 men) was 39.8 ± 13.4 years. The main complaints upon admission were recorded as nausea-vomiting (80%), diarrhea (64%), abdominal pain (40%), and dizziness (20%). Twenty-five patients were applied hemoperfusion due to renal and hepatic failure. A case died of renal and hepatic failure. The mean of hospitalization was 6.3 ± 5.6 days. Alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), prothrombin time (PT), INR, and urea values had decreased significantly at the time of hospital discharge compared to baseline values (P < 0.001); however, no statistically significant difference existed between baseline and discharge creatinine levels (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSION: In our study, it was observed that early hemoperfusion provided better prognosis by enhancing the efficacy of the treatment. However, the best method to reduce the mortality is to enlighten the community about the risks of mushroom poisonings