https://doi.org/10.4081/ecj.2022.10347

Magic truffle intoxication: A case report

Vol. 18 No. 2 (2022)
Submitted: 28 December 2021
Accepted: 4 April 2022
Published: 27 June 2022
Psilocybes, psilocybin, sclerotia, poisoning
Abstract Views: 2179
PDF: 318
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Authors

Brendan Le Daré
Univ Rennes, INSERM, INRAE, CHU Rennes, Institut NuMeCan (Nutrition, Metabolisms and Cancer), Rennes, France.
Romain Pelletier
Univ Rennes, INSERM, INRAE, CHU Rennes, Institut NuMeCan (Nutrition, Metabolisms and Cancer), Rennes; Laboratoire de toxicologie biologique et medico-légale, CHU Pontchaillou, Rennes, France.
Aurélien Couette
Laboratoire de toxicologie biologique et medico-légale, CHU Pontchaillou, Rennes, France.
Isabelle Morel
Univ Rennes, INSERM, INRAE, CHU Rennes, Institut NuMeCan (Nutrition, Metabolisms and Cancer), Rennes; Laboratoire de toxicologie biologique et medico-légale, CHU Pontchaillou, Rennes, France.
Thomas Gicquel
thomas.gicquel@chu-rennes.fr
Univ Rennes, INSERM, INRAE, CHU Rennes, Institut NuMeCan (Nutrition, Metabolisms and Cancer), Rennes; Laboratoire de toxicologie biologique et medico-légale, CHU Pontchaillou, Rennes, France.

Unusual forms of hallucinogenic mushrooms are emerging, which may delay diagnosis and compromise optimal management. Here, we discuss clinical and biological findings in a case of “magic mushroom” intoxication in a 20-year-old man who was brought to hospital emergency department in a state of euphoria, disorientation, intense visual hallucinations, episodic amnesia and agitation requiring physical restraint. The patient’s family brought intact specimens of the consumed product, without any health professional being able to identify it. Toxicological screening detected psilocin in urine and in the unknown mushrooms, allowing guiding the mushroom identification towards the Psilocybes genus. Ten hours post-ingestion, the patient was discharged asymptomatic. We believe that recognition of the unusual form of hallucinogenic mushroom presented here by emergency physicians might contribute to better diagnosis and subsequent optimal management, especially since hallucinogenic substances are not routinely tested in toxicological analyses.

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How to Cite

Le Daré, B., Pelletier, R., Couette, A., Morel, I., & Gicquel, T. (2022). Magic truffle intoxication: A case report. Emergency Care Journal, 18(2). https://doi.org/10.4081/ecj.2022.10347

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