Wild mushroom poisonings in the Middle Black Sea region in Turkey: analyses of 6 years.
Wild mushroom poisoning (MP) is an important medical emergency that may have serious clinical outcome. The aim of this study was to evaluate the demographic and clinical features of patients with wild MP. This study was designed retrospectively by examining files of the patients with wild MP who were admitted to Ondokuz Mayis University Emergency Department, between January 2002 and December 2007. Patients > or =16 years of age were included in the study. A total of 317 patients poisoned by wild mushrooms (mean age, 42.0 +/- 16.3 years; 67.5% female) were studied. All poisonings were accidental, i.e. consumption of wild mushrooms collected from open fields and woodlands or purchased from local bazaars. The common symptoms and complaints on admission were nausea (86.8%) and vomiting (79.8%). The poisoning latent phase in most cases was <6 hours (86.8%). Most of the poisonings occurred in autumn (59.6%). Three patients died in the hospital due to acute liver failure and complications. The duration of hospitalization was a median 3 days (range: 1-12 days). The public should be informed about the probable hazards of wild mushroom ingestion.
Yardan
Turker
T
Department of Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Ondokuz Mayis University, Samsun, Turkey. tyardan@yahoo.com
Baydin
Ahmet
A
Eden
Arif Onur
AO
Akdemir
Hizir Ufuk
HU
Aygun
Dursun
D
Acar
Ethem
E
Arslan
Bora
B
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006293:Health Promotion; D048550:Hepatic Insufficiency / Q000097:blood / Q000209:etiology; D006785:Hospitals, University / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D017114:Liver Failure, Acute / Q000097:blood / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality; D008297:Male; D008499:Medical Records; D008875:Middle Aged; D009145:Mushroom Poisoning / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000517:prevention & control; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012621:Seasons; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult