In the fall of 1981 the San Francisco Bay Area Regional Poison Control Center received more than 100 calls regarding wild mushroom ingestion. Ten cases, including three fatalities, had all the features of Amanita phalloides poisoning. Encephalopathy, coma and renal insufficiency occurred in all three patients who died, but did not occur in those who survived. Two of the three patients who died arrived at the hospital late in the course of their illness, and severe gastroenteritis with accompanying dehydration probably contributed to their deaths. The poison control center promoted public awareness of the mushroom hazard through newspaper and television stories and by notifying local health departments. It also has devised a simple form to improve the quality of data collection and to assist in later verification of suspected A phalloides poisoning.
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