Mushroom Poisoning in the Southwest Region of the Caspian Sea, Iran: A Retrospective Study

Mushroom poisoning as a medical emergency can be a challenging problem for physicians. Despite the vast resources of poisonous mushrooms in Iran, few studies have been done in this regard, especially in the southwest region of the Caspian Sea that is very suitable for mushroom growth. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate our experience with mushroom poisoning in this region. This retrospective study reviewed the records of 102 patients who were admitted to the Emergency Department of Razi Hospital of Rasht, the only referral department in this region, from May 2006 to May 2011. Data were analyzed by Chi-square test, ANOVA, and student’s t-test. The patients’ age ranged from 13 to 75 years and 47 of them were male and the rest 55 were female. Overall, 57.8% of mushroom poisoning cases occurred in patients from urban areas. Most incidences were reported between September and October, the rainy season in Guilan. Except for four patients with tachycardia, others had stable vital signs. The most frequent symptoms (86.4%) were nausea and vomiting. Complete blood cell count revealed that 28.4% of the patients had leukocytosis but all of them had platelet counts of less than 100000. This study showed that all cases had mild to moderate symptoms that were treated by simple supportive therapies. This suggested that mushroom species in our region are less dangerous but further studies need to establish what toxins and species are responsible for mushroom toxicity.