Research In Action

Grocery store and restaurant mushrooms are delicious, and over half of all commercially sold mushrooms are said to be distributed from southeastern Pennsylvania. Gathering wild mushrooms seems like an inexpensive way to make a meal or a fun hobby, but foraging mushrooms can have dangerous consequences because it is common for edible mushrooms to be the genus Amanita, which carry colorful common names like “death caps” and “destroying angels.” As the old toxicology adage goes, “There are old mushroom pickers, and bold mushroom pickers, but there are NO old, bold mushroom pickers!”

Over a 4-week period in the autumn of 2022, the Poison Control Center (PCC) at CHOP received reports from Philadelphia and Southeast PA area hospitals of 11 cases of wild mushroom poisoning among foraging hobbyists. Seven of these cases led to hospitalizations, including three that were admitted to intensive care. One patient required an emergency transplant surgery to survive, a procedure that will now necessitate life-long medical care.

The PCC’s ongoing toxicological epidemic surveillance activities picked up that this was an excess in foraging cases over a short time frame, and that the poisoning injury affecting involved patients was serious. The cluster poses numerous questions pertaining to its root causes and investigation is ongoing.

Among our primary missions as a poison center are to optimize public health and mitigate ongoing poisoning trends via public education. Initially, our PCC embarked on a public service messaging effort involving health department and media notification. A public service announcement was released on October 10, 2022. The announcement was distributed by the PA Department of Health and was picked up by numerous media outlets including the Philadelphia Inquirer, national public radio affiliate WHYY, and Today.com, among others.

Additional key facts to remember about wild mushrooms:

• Symptoms from eating poisonous mushrooms may not appear for several hours to days after eating them.
• Cooking many wild mushrooms – especially those that may cause critical illness like liver failure – does not make them safe to eat.
• Differences in soil and climate can make mushrooms that are highly toxic in one area of the country may look very similar to those that are perfectly safe to eat in other regions This is especially important for American immigrants who might find wild mushrooms in the US that appear just like edible mushrooms back in their country of origin but are actually terribly poisonous.
• If a person has picked a wild mushroom, they should take a picture of it before they eat it. Include the top and bottom of the cap, the stem, and the base of the mushroom. If symptoms develop in the hours to days after eating, it is crucial to seek urgent medical care and to bring the pictures to help identify the mushroom to guide appropriate treatment. CHOP's Regional Poison Control Center may be reached 24/7 at 1(800) 222-1222.

The Poison Control Center at CHOP brings together a collaborative team of dedicated toxicologists from a number of academic medical centers in our region. Our toxicology consultants from the Einstein Healthcare Network were instrumental in providing medical care to many of the sickest mushroom poisoning patients.

If you think that someone may have been poisoned by a wild mushroom, call the Poison Control Center right away at 1(800) 222-1222. This number will put you into contact with nurses, pharmacists, and doctors who are trained to recognize all types of poisonings. They will provide expert, compassionate, and judgment-free care.