Back to search

Shiitake, Hua Gu · 2020 · Case Reports

Medium relevance

Flagellate Dermatitis After Ingestion of Shiitake Mushrooms in a Healthy Female Living in the Southeastern United States.

Lentinula edodes

Skin & hydration
SpeciesShiitake, Hua Gu
JournalThe Journal of emergency medicine
Year2020

Key points

  • BACKGROUND: Shiitake flagellate dermatitis is a shiitake mushroom (SM)-induced toxic dermatosis that is a widely recognized clinical phenomenon in Japan, China, and Korea but is rarely reported outside of Asia
  • Typically, 24-48 hours after consumption of SM, patients develop severely pruritic, linear, often parallel, infiltrated erythematous lesions, commonly described as being in a "whip-like" pattern
  • The dermatosis is noted preferentially on the trunk, extremities, and neck
  • Shiitake flagellate dermatitis is self-limited and typically resolves within days to weeks of its appearance
  • CASE REPORT: A healthy 36-year-old woman living in the southeastern United States presented with a 48-hour history of pruritic, truncal, morbilliform, flagellate-like efflorescences that extended to her buttocks and thighs
  • WHY SHOULD AN EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN BE AWARE OF THIS?: Shiitake dermatitis has a characteristic whip-like pattern that, if identified early by first-line physicians, can relieve concerns for more serious etiologies and expedite appropriate therapy

From the paper

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Shiitake flagellate dermatitis is a shiitake mushroom (SM)-induced toxic dermatosis that is a widely recognized clinical phenomenon in Japan, China, and Korea but is rarely reported outside of Asia. Typically, 24-48 hours after consumption of SM, patients develop severely pruritic, linear, often parallel, infiltrated erythematous lesions, commonly described as being in a "whip-like" pattern. The dermatosis is noted preferentially on the trunk, extremities, and neck. Shiitake flagellate dermatitis is self-limited and typically resolves within days to weeks of its appearance.

CASE REPORT: A healthy 36-year-old woman living in the southeastern United States presented with a 48-hour history of pruritic, truncal, morbilliform, flagellate-like efflorescences that extended to her buttocks and thighs. Her hard and soft palates, palms and soles, hair-bearing scalp, and face were also involved. Two days before presentation, the patient ate a store-bought salad preparation that contained raw mushrooms including SMs. WHY SHOULD AN EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN BE AWARE OF THIS?: Shiitake dermatitis has a characteristic whip-like pattern that, if identified early by first-line physicians, can relieve concerns for more serious etiologies and expedite appropriate therapy.

Citation

Mulhall J, Elseth A, Perdue J, Pomerantz H, Brown B, Frasca D (2020). Flagellate Dermatitis After Ingestion of Shiitake Mushrooms in a Healthy Female Living in the Southeastern United States. The Journal of emergency medicine https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jemermed.2020.04.035 PMID: 32417027

Open citation