Acute intoxication with Tricholoma equestre--clinical course.

UNLABELLED: We observed all patients admitted to the poison centers for children and adults in Gdańsk and Biała Podlaska, between the years 2001 and 2010, who were intoxicated with Tricholoma equestre. The main clinical symptoms, included muscle weakness, nausea without vomiting, diaphoresis without fever, and in the most serious cases acute respiratory failure. In biochemical results there were seen marked increase in CK, AST and ALT levels. The mortality rate was 20%. It seems that the severity of intoxication are correlated with the amount of ingested mushroom.

CONCLUSIONS: Physicians should be aware of the possibility of acute intoxications after repeated consumption of large quantities of Tricholoma equestre. The clinical picture of poisonings with this wild mushroom might be different in children and adults and depends on ingested amount of these mushrooms. The most serious adverse effect include acute respiratory failure and myocarditis with cardiac arrhythmia and cardiovascular collapse. Intoxication of Tricholoma equestre may be connected with the high mortality rate about 20%.