Plant poisonings in children

1 Plant poisonings comprise 5% of all hospitalizations due to poisonings in children and plant inquiries to Poison Information Centre consist about 28% of calls concerning children.

2 A search of 71 cases of hospitalization due to plants in a 5 year period obtained from two children's hospitals in Helsinki were reviewed and 105 plant inquiries concern ing poisonings among children to the Poison Information Centre in a 6 month period were studied.

3 The most frequent plant poisonings involved lily-of the-valley, dumb cane and cotoneaster plant. Only 11% of the cases treated in hospital were evaluated to be unequivocal poisonings.

4 Mezereon, snowberry, cotoneaster plant, honeysuckle, and woody nightshade caused the most serious symptoms. Symptoms in mezereon poisoning were increased saliva excretion, haematuria and diarrhoea in a 1.2-year-old girl. Snowberries caused a semicomatose state and difficulty in urination, cotoneaster caused severe stomach ache, honeysuckle abudant gastrointestinal symptoms and muscle cramps, and nightshade led to prolonged high fever and sweating.

5 It appears that almost all plant poisonings could be treated with medical charcoal. Gastric evacuation is seldom required.