Health Care Utilization and Outcomes Associated with Accidental Poisonous Mushroom Ingestions - United States, 2016-2018

Abstract

Accidental consumption of poisonous mushrooms can result in serious illness and death (1). Reports of severe poisonings from consumption of foraged mushrooms for food or hallucinogenic purposes increased during 1999-2016 (2), and approximately 7,500 poisonous mushroom ingestions were reported annually to poison control centers across the United States (1). To estimate the frequency of emergency department (ED) visits, hospitalizations, and severe adverse outcomes associated with accidental poisonous mushroom ingestion in the United States, CDC analyzed 2016 data from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project's* Nationwide Emergency Department Sample (HCUP-NEDS) and National Inpatient Sample (HCUP-NIS) databases as well as 2016-2018 data from three IBM MarketScan sources: Commercial Claims and Encounters (CCAE), Medicare Supplemental and Coordination of Benefits (Medicare), and Multi-State Medicaid databases. During 2016, 1,328 (standard error [SE] = 100) ED visits and 100 (SE = 22) hospitalizations (HCUP data) were associated with accidental poisonous mushroom ingestion. Among 556 patients with a diagnosis of accidental poisonous mushroom ingestion, 48 (8.6%) patients experienced a serious adverse outcome during 2016-2018 (MarketScan data). Serious adverse outcomes were more common among Medicaid-insured patients than among patients with commercial insurance or Medicare (11.5% versus 6.7%, p = 0.049). Because most mushroom poisonings are preventable, wild mushrooms should not be consumed unless they are identified by an expert; increased public health messaging about the potential dangers of mushroom poisoning is needed.