Couple suffers heart and liver d.a.m.age... after eating white mushrooms

Multiple organ damage after eating wild mushrooms

On April 18, the Poison Control Center, Bach Mai Hospital informed about 2 cases of critical poisoning from wild mushrooms.

The 18-year-old wife and 21-year-old husband were transferred from Lai Chau General Hospital to Bach Mai Hospital with the diagnosis: Mushroom poisoning causing acute liver failure, blood clotting disorders, heart damage...

The patient's family said that on the afternoon of April 10, the young couple went to the forest to pick mushrooms to eat. This type of mushroom is white, has a round head, and a long stem. About 12 hours after eating the mushrooms, both husband and wife experienced digestive symptoms, including abdominal pain, loose stools, and frequent vomiting.

Both were taken to the emergency room, but their condition worsened so they were transferred to Bach Mai Hospital.

Doctor Nguyen Manh Chien - Poison Control Center, Bach Mai Hospital said that the 2 patients are currently in a deep coma.

Tests showed that the patient had multiple organ damage and failure, irritation of the digestive tract, hepatitis, acute liver failure, hepatic coma, acute renal failure, myocardial damage, severe blood clotting disorders, and a very high risk of death.



The two patients were actively treated by doctors, with plasma exchange, continuous blood filtration, antidotes, resuscitation, etc., but their condition was still very serious.

Slow-poisoning mushrooms: Extremely dangerous

According to Dr. Nguyen Trung Nguyen - Director of the Poison Control Center, Bach Mai Hospital, in Vietnam there are many types of poisonous mushrooms, but they can be classified into 2 groups: The first group is the group that causes slow poisoning, the second group is the group that causes fast poisoning.

The group that causes slow poisoning is the type of mushroom that causes poisoning that manifests late (more than 6 hours after eating), is the most dangerous and often causes death.

In Vietnam, there are recorded white poisonous mushrooms (Amanita verna) and white poisonous cone mushrooms (Amanita virosa), which are eye-catching, white, young, and look very delicious.

"However, the toxin of these mushrooms is amatoxin, which damages the intestines, liver, kidneys, heart, and other organs," said Dr. Nguyen.

When eating this type of mushroom, poisoning often occurs slowly, at least 6 hours after eating, symptoms appear, and the poisoning usually progresses in 3 stages:

Stage 1: This is the incubation period, lasting from 6-10 hours, when symptoms of abdominal pain, nausea, and acute diarrhea appear many times. This stage lasts 1-2 days.

Stage 2: Digestive symptoms subside, making it easy for patients and inexperienced doctors to misunderstand that they have recovered, but the liver begins to be damaged. This stage lasts for the next 1-2 days.

Stage 3: From about the third day onwards, the patient shows signs of hepatitis, liver failure, kidney failure, blood clotting disorders, jaundice, bleeding, mental stimulation leading to coma, and even death.

"The mortality rate of poisoning from this type of mushroom is estimated by the Poison Control Center to be about 50%, including deaths at the grassroots level and at home," said Dr. Nguyen.




According to this expert, when there are signs of poisoning, that is, more than 6 hours after eating, the poisonous mushroom has passed through the stomach and into the intestines, and even absorbed most of it into the body. Initial emergency measures will no longer be effective.

Patients need to be given emergency care and intensive treatment immediately at a hospital or medical facility with good conditions for anti-poisoning and emergency resuscitation, because the treatment is extremely complicated, requires a lot of effort, resources, and is expensive.

The two cases of patients mentioned above ate mushrooms that caused late poisoning.

Meanwhile, mushrooms that cause early poisoning usually cause poisoning within 6 hours after eating. This group has more types of mushrooms, often with bright colors or unattractive colors.

With this group, poisoning often causes abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, and may have neurological, psychiatric, cardiovascular symptoms... but can be treated and detoxified immediately at the district hospital.

When suspected of eating poisonous mushrooms, if conditions permit and the patient is still conscious (just finished eating), vomiting can be induced to remove the mushrooms from the body."

In case the patient has diarrhea and vomits a lot, the patient can be given fluids to rehydrate and replenish salts. However, the patient still needs to be taken to the nearest medical facility for examination, assessment and emergency treatment by doctors.

"To prevent mushroom poisoning, people should absolutely not pick wild mushrooms to eat (except wood ear mushrooms), because distinguishing between poisonous and non-poisonous mushrooms is very difficult, even for experts is not easy," Dr. Nguyen advised.