Mushroom poisoning and outcome of patients admitted in a tertiary care hospital in North East India

Background: Of the estimated 5000 existing mushroom species, only 200 to 300 have been established to be edible and safe, whereas 50 to 100 species are known to be poisonous for human consumption. The toxicity profile of most other species has not been investigated. Consuming mushrooms gathered in the wild is risky, as most of the mushroom poisoning reported are due to accidental ingestion of poisonous mushrooms, which are often misidentified. To study the clinical characteristics of patients who got admitted with mushroom poisoning in North Eastern Indra Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS), Shillong over the past 5 years. Methods: A retrospective study of case records of patients admitted with mushroom poisoning over 5 years in a tertiary care regional institute of northeastern India (NEIGRIHMS, Shillong) was carried out. Data collection was done using a pre-designed proforma. Results: Fifty-three patients were admitted with mushroom poisoning during the study period of 5 years (2014–2019). Maximum number (16; 30.19%) of the patients belonged to the age group of 11 to 20 years. A two and a half months old baby on breast milk is the youngest patient admitted with mushroom poisoning. Out of 53 patients with mushroom poisoning, 33 (62.26%) reported in six clusters, and 20 (37.74%) were admitted as individual mushroom poisoning patients. The majority, 40 (75.47%), of the patients survived and got discharged. Nine (16.98%) patients died due to complications of poisoning, and four (7.55%) patients left against medical advice. Most of the cases (21, 39.62%) were from Ri-Bhoi district. Most (17, 32.07%) of the mushroom poisoning occurred during the month of May, which coincided with the peak time of mushroom production in the state of Meghalaya. Conclusions: Wild mushroom is a part of routine food consumption in the tribal population of Meghalaya. Nearly 75% of the patients admitted with mushroom poisoning recovered, whereas 16.98% died due to poisoning complications.