Open AccessDemographic and Clinical Characteristics of Mushroom Poisonings Presenting to Emergency Department
Author(s) -
Bedriye Müge Sönmez,
Fevzi Yılmaz,
Muhammet Evvah Karakiliç,
Tamer Durdu,
Taner Şahin,
Hüseyin Çebiçci,
İnan Beydilli,
Murat Yücel
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
the annals of clinical and analytical medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2667-663X
DOI - 10.4328/jcam.2176
Subject(s) - medicine , emergency department , mushroom , medical emergency , mushroom poisoning , emergency medicine , poison control , psychiatry , food science , biology
Aim: To emphasize the significance of mushroom poisonings in terms of their wide clinical spectrum and potentially lethal feature. Material and Method: In this retrospective study 135 cases of mushroom poisoning admitted to emergency departments of two major hospitals in Central Anatolian Region between 2010 and 2012 were evaluated. Results: 121 (89.6%) of 135 patients were adult and 14 were in pediatric age group. The mean age was 41.5±18.4. A hundred twenty-six of patients had poisoned after consuming wild mushrooms. The most frequent symptoms were nause, abdominal pain, fatigue and vomiting. Patients were admitted most commonly within the 6 hours after ingestion. Fifty percent of patients were hospitalized. Mortality was seen in 3 patients. Discussion: Mushroom poisoning still remains as an important public health problem. Due to the diversity and non-specificity of symptoms diagnosis is confounding and should be kept in mind of emergency physicians especially in rainy weather