ABSTRACT
In the last few years new and effective therapeutic schedules have been employed in the treatment of patients intoxicated by mushrooms of the genus Amanita. As a result, the survival rate has considerably increased and clinical-histopathological correlation studies, such as the present one, have become feasible. The fate of these patients was once wrongly considered to be either complete recovery (rarely) or death (frequently). According to the results of the present study, Amanita intoxication can also progress to chronic liver damage. This latter evolution of the disease seems to depend on the severity of the acute phase of the intoxication, as clinical, laboratory and biopsy findings of liver alteration testify. The correct evaluation of evolving liver damage involves histopathological investigations, which should be performed 6 months after the acute episode, in those patients who overcome a moderate to severe acute intoxication.
Subject(s)
Liver/pathology , Mushroom Poisoning/pathology , Amanita , Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury/pathology , HumansABSTRACT
An eight-fold increase in the incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma in the Florence area was detected in a 25-year retrospective review of adult autopsy records in the Institute of Pathology of the University of Florence. During the same period, the incidence of cirrhosis did not show a parallel increase. The relationship between hepatocellular carcinoma, cirrhosis and HB virus is briefly discussed in the light of these findings.
