Mushroom poisoning cases in dogs and cats: diagnosis and treatment of hepatotoxic, neurotoxic, gastroenterotoxic, nephrotoxic, and muscarinic mushrooms.

Abstract

Of the several thousand species of mushrooms found in North America, less than 100 are toxic. Species in the genus Amanita are responsible for the vast majority of reported mushroom poisonings. In general, the number of reported mushroom poisonings in animals is low, most likely because toxicology testing is available for a limited number of mushroom toxins and thus many cases are not confirmed or reported. Also, only a limited number of mushrooms are submitted for identification purposes. Mushroom intoxications require tremendous efforts from clinicians and toxicologists in terms of making a diagnosis and treatment, and management is challenging.