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American mistletoe exposures

E P Krenzelok1, T D Jacobsen, J Aronis

  • 1Pittsburgh Poison Center, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, PA, USA.

The American Journal of Emergency Medicine
|September 1, 1997
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

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American mistletoe ingestion is not as toxic as commonly believed. A review of 1,754 exposures found no fatalities and minimal adverse effects, suggesting accidental mistletoe poisoning is generally harmless.

Area of Science:

  • Toxicology
  • Plant Poisoning

Background:

  • American mistletoe is widely perceived as highly toxic by the public and medical professionals.
  • This perception is not supported by empirical data regarding plant ingestion outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the toxicity of American mistletoe based on documented exposure cases.
  • To determine if the plant warrants its reputation for severe toxicity following ingestion.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of 1,754 American mistletoe exposure cases from the National Data Collection System of the American Association of Poison Control Centers (1985-1992).
  • Data were categorized by patient age, decontamination therapy, outcome, and geographic region.
  • Focus on pediatric and accidental exposure incidents.

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Main Results:

  • Pediatric exposures constituted 92.1% of cases; 94.7% were accidental.
  • A significant majority of cases (99.2%) resulted in no morbidity or fatalities.
  • Gastrointestinal decontamination therapy showed no significant impact on patient outcomes; asymptomatic rates were similar between treated and untreated groups.

Conclusions:

  • Accidental ingestion of American mistletoe is not associated with significant toxicity.
  • The common belief regarding the extreme toxicity of American mistletoe is not supported by this large-scale exposure data.
  • Further research may be warranted, but current data suggest a low risk profile for mistletoe poisoning.