Berry identification by emergency health care providers

Emergency Department (ED) visits due to environmental toxins increase during summer and autumn months for multiple factors, including outdoor activities which permit proximity to wild berries and seeds. The Poison Center (PC) may be involved in this exposure by initial referral or by contact with emergency medicine personnel on patient arrival. Berry identification can be enhanced by considering the month and the basic berry description; positive identification can be made only be visual inspection. When, and if, the berry is identified, appropriate treatment can be instituted (as gastric emptying may not be indicated for every plant/wild berry ingestion). Regional AAPCC data was reviewed, and the most common berry exposures in this locale comprised the basis for the testing vehicle. Slides from the authors' collections were utilized in the examination. Examinees included emergency medicine physicians and nurses at an urban teaching hospital who attended a 40-minute presentation and discussion. Zero percent correctly identified all 10 specimens. Less than 10% of the berries were identified correctly by common name, and fewer examinees were able to correctly determine the presence/absence of potential toxicity. No difference in scores based on sex or professional experience was noted. An obvious implication is to increase emergency health care providers' education in locale-specific medical botany.