An outbreak of illness among schoolchildren in London: toxic poisoning not mass hysteria.

Aldous, John; Ellam, G. A.; Murray, Virginia; Pike, Grace

doi:10.1136/jech.48.1.41

Cited by 23 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…In 1981-1982, in Australia and Alabama, and in 1984 in California, 202 cases of human poisoning were reported by bitter zucchini, a cucurbitaceae member [10][11][12][13]. Similarly Khan et al [14] reported 5 cases of bloody diarrhea due to colocynth toxicity.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Gastrointestinal toxicity due to bitter bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria)─a report of 15 cases

Puri

Sud

Khaliq

et al. 2011

Indian J Gastroenterol

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Traditional medicine is widely practiced in tropical countries. Bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) fruit juice is advocated as a part of complementary and alternative medicine. If the bottle gourd juice becomes bitter it is considered toxic. We report 15 patients, who developed toxicity due to drinking bitter bottle gourd juice. Patients presented with abdominal pain, vomiting, hematemesis, diarrhea and hypotension within 15 min to 6-h after ingestion of bottle gourd juice. Endoscopy showed esophagitis, gastric erosions, ulcers and duodenitis. Hypotension was treated with crystalloids and inotropic support. All patients recovered in 1-4 days. Endoscopically the lesions healed in 2 weeks. Bitter bottle gourd can cause gastrointestinal toxicity with hematemesis and hypotension. Supportive management is the treatment and all patients recover within 1 week.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Gastrointestinal toxicity due to bitter bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria)─a report of 15 cases

Puri

Sud

Khaliq

et al. 2011

Indian J Gastroenterol

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“…The appearance of research- Epidemic Hysteria 237 ers and other official visitors making inquiries after the fact can reintroduce the disease agent, anxiety (79). One report suggested that some youngsters may have exaggerated their illness because they found the idea of an ambulance ride exciting (80).…”

Section: Enhancement Of the Outbreakmentioning

confidence: 99%

Epidemic Hysteria: A Review of the Published Literature

Boss

1997

Epidemiologic Reviews

132

128

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“…In the period of 1981-1982, in Australia and Alabama, and in 1984 in California, 202 cases of human poisoning were reported by bitter zucchini, a cucurbitaceae member. [9][10][11][12] Similarly, Khan et al [13] reported 5 cases of bloody diarrhea due to colocynth toxicity. One hour after ingesting bitter bottle gourd juice most patients can have onset of symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, upper gastrointestinal bleeding and hypotension.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) juice poisoning

Verma¹,

Jaiswal²

2015

World Journal of Emergency Medicine

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BACKGROUND: Bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) is popularly known as lauki, ghia or dudhi in India. Its consumption is advocated by traditional medicine healers for controlling diabetes mellitus, hypertension, liver diseases, weight loss and other diseases. However, in last few years there have been reports of suspected toxicity due to consumption of its juice leading to severe vomiting and upper gastrointestinal bleeding. As emergency physicians we need to be aware of this very rare poisoning specially in India. METHODS:We present a case of a 52-year-old woman who presented with multiple episodes of hematemesis and shock to the emergency department (ED) after consuming bottle gourd juice. The patient was resuscitated and stabilized with fl uids, proton pump inhibitors and antiemetics and shifted to the intensive care unit (ICU) under the care of a gastroenterology team for urgent endoscopy and further management. RESULTS:The patient received intravenous fluids, antibiotics, antiemetics, and antacids and underwent upper gastroenterologic endoscopy during the hospitalization. She was discharged in a stable condition 4 days later. CONCLUSIONS:As a member of the Cucurbitaceae family, bottle gourd contains toxic tetracyclic triterpenoid compounds called cucurbitacins which are responsible for the bitter taste and toxicity. There is no known antidote for this toxicity, and clinicians treat such patients symptomatically only. It is important to educate the public about the harmful effects of this potentially life-threatening toxicity.

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An outbreak of illness among schoolchildren in London: toxic poisoning not mass hysteria.

Cited by 23 publications

References 16 publications

Gastrointestinal toxicity due to bitter bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria)─a report of 15 cases

Gastrointestinal toxicity due to bitter bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria)─a report of 15 cases

Epidemic Hysteria: A Review of the Published Literature

Bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) juice poisoning

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