[Diagnosis and therapy of mushroom poisoning (1)]

The diagnosis of mushroom poisoning is based on three principles: the description of the mushroom, the toxicological analysis of the mushroom and, most important, the mushroom syndrome. Mushroom poisoning can be classified according to the lag time between the meal and the onset of symptoms. In this paper we will discuss mushroom poisoning with short and intermediate lag time. With short lag time and a predominance of CNS signs and symptoms the diagnosis is either fly-agaric, pantherina or psilocybin syndrome. Parasympathomimetic signs and symptoms indicate the muscarine syndrome. If--with a lag period of up to four hours--vomiting and diarrhea are predominant, we will find a poisoning with one of the many mushrooms which lead to gastroenteritis. Gastroenteritis combined with hemolysis points to a paxillus syndrome.