Just the Facts: Management of cyclopeptide mushroom ingestion

A 54-year-old woman prepares dinner around 8:00 pm that includes mushrooms that she picked from her yard. The next morning, around 8:00 am, the woman (patient), her daughter, and son-in-law all develop abdominal cramps, violent vomiting, and diarrhea. They present to the emergency department and are admitted for dehydration and intractable vomiting with a presumed diagnosis of food poisoning. Twenty-four hours later, they appear well with stable vital signs and improved symptoms. Four hours later, 36 hours post-ingestion, the patient becomes lethargic. A venous blood gas reveals pH, 7.1; PCO2, 16 mmHg; and her AST was 3140 units/L with an ALT of 4260 units/L and an INR of 3.7.