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Ingesting wild mushrooms may lead to hepatic failure, death

Researchers in Toronto, Canada, found that ingesting wild mushrooms could result in hepatic failure and even death, according to findings from a new case study.

In the case study, researchers from Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center, including Adina Weinerman, MD, and colleagues from the University of Toronto, examined a 52-year old woman of Asian descent who foraged for wild mushrooms while in a local park. After ingesting the mushrooms, the woman developed severe abdominal pain and gastrointestinal distress over 12 hours, according to the research, and was admitted for observation.

After local authorities were able to identify the mushroom — Amanita bisporigera — the woman’s condition worsened over a period of 36 hours since ingesting the mushroom, which is a known hepatotoxic species of mushroom. The patient was admitted to the intensive care unit and the following day, “her level of consciousness began to deteriorate, consistent with hepatic encephalopathy, and profound coagulopathy developed, with an international normalized ratio of more than 13,” according to the study. The patient was referred to a liver transplant center and underwent an urgent liver transplant from a deceased donor.

This type of mushroom, which includes over 600 types, is responsible for the most deaths due to mushroom toxicity, according to the researchers. There is no proven treatment or cure, so the researchers recommend immediate consultation with a local poison center if poisoning is suspected.

“Once amatoxin poisoning is diagnosed or suspected, aggressive supportive care, close monitoring of hepatic function and consultation with a local poison control center for adjunctive therapy are the main principles of management,” the researchers wrote. “Hypovolemia and electrolyte and metabolic derangements as a result of gastrointestinal symptoms are likely.”

The researchers stated that separating the safe mushrooms from the harmful mushrooms has posed a challenge for mycologists, but advised that patients should be educated that there are both poisonous and edible mushrooms that are similar in appearance and wild mushrooms that cannot be identified should not be eaten.

“This information is especially important for immigrants who might mistake local poisonous mushrooms for familiar edible species from their native land,” the researchers wrote.

Disclosures: Healio.com/Hepatology was unable to confirm relevant financial disclosures at the time of publication.