Delayed liver toxicity and delayed gastroenteritis: A 5 year retrospective analysis of the cause of death in Mushroom poisoning

INTRODUCTION: Mushroom poisoning occurs from consumption of the wild variants of mushroom containing varied forms of toxins. Among those toxins, amatoxin containing mushrooms are known for the significant morbidity and mortality from hepatic toxicity and delayed gastroenteritis. Although not a very common cause of poisoning, it is prevalent in the north-eastern region of India, especially during the rainy summer seasons when the wild variants are found abundantly and often confused with the edible variants. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To study the clinical and biochemical profiles and short term outcomes of patients with mushroom poisoning admitted to a tertiary care hospital. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analyzed the data of patients with mushroom poisoning admitted to a tertiary care institute in north-eastern India between January 2015 to December 2020 to study their clinical and biochemical profiles, and short-term outcomes. Their clinical features, biochemical parameters, management, and in-hospital outcomes were noted. All data was recorded in Microsoft MS Excel and analyses done using SPSS version 22. RESULTS: Of the 44 patients with mushroom poisoning, 23 (52%) were male and 21 (47%) were female, with a mean age of 20.13 years. Seventeen patients (38%) had delayed liver failure and delayed gastroenteritis, 19 patients (43%) had acute gastroenteritis syndrome, 5 patients (11%) had cholinergic symptoms, one patient (2%) each had acute kidney injury and a disulfiram-type reaction with headache. The mean hospital stay of the patients was 5 days. In-hospital mortality occurred in 10 (58%) patients with delayed liver failure and none of the patients with the other complications died. CONCLUSION: This study revealed a high prevalence of mushroom poisoning that caused delayed liver toxicity and delayed gastroenteritis, probably amatoxin-induced, which is fatal, thus accounting for high mortality and poor outcomes in these patients.