FULMINANT HEPATIC-FAILURE AFTER LEPIOTA MUSHROOM POISONING

We present ten patients who suffered from a cyclopeptide syndrome from two different foci, one caused by Lepiota helveola (seven cases) and the other by Lepiota brunneoincarnata (three cases). Of the ten victim s, five recovered completely after the intestinal stage and the other five developed a phase of visceral involvement with alterations of liv er function. In two patients, hepatic function became normal after the 7th day after ingestion. Three patients developed fulminant hepatitis and two of these died of adult respiratory distress syndrome. The ful minant hepatitis patient who later improved developed active chronic h epatitis 1 year later. Finally, five patients developed mixed polyneur opathy. In this paper the indications for orthotopic liver transplant (OLTx) are discussed and the development of late complications such as active chronic hepatitis and mixed polyneuropathy are considered.