[Rhabdomyolysis as an unspecyfic symptom of mushroom poisoning--a case report].

Since 2001 a number of cases of mushroom poisoning with concomitant rhabdomyolysis have been described. Among the edible mushrooms growing in Europe, these reports concerned only Tricholoma equestre. The results of animal studies suggest that rhabdomyolysis could be a consequence of consumption of other edible fungi, and its occurrence depends on the amount of ingested mushrooms and individual sensitivity.

[Analysis of exposure to pepper spray as a part of preparing hospital to help victims of mass chemical incidents].

We analyzed an incident of exposure to pepper spray 35 persons, including 29 children. Medical procedures were difficult because of the lack of reliable information about the nature of exposure, lack of hospital action plan for chemical accidents and established principles of cooperation with poison control center, as well as the need of extensive medical documentation for each patient.

[Factors determining students' knowledge on wild mushrooms].

A survey was conducted among students of university schools in Nowy Sacz, Biała Podlaska and Zamość to determine the guidelines of mushroom poisoning prevention. The study included 580 people. The dependence of knowledge about mushrooms from the place of origin of students, frequency of participation in mushrooming, preferred sources of information about mushrooms, major of study and self-competence in discsriminating of mushrooms was determined.

[Acute gamma-butyrolactone poisoning with withdrawal syndrome].

Gamma-butyrolactone (GBL) is a solvent that are part of many consumer products and in most countries can be legally purchased in the form of almost pure substance. After ingestion GBL is rapidly converted to gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB). In recent years, GBL became a legal alternative to GHB, which is used widely since 1990s as a club drug and date rape drug.

[Acute transient left-ventricular systolic disfunction during alcohol withdrawal].

Stress cardiomyopathy is an acute transient left ventricular dysfunction, associated with emotional stress. In the course of alcohol withdrawal abnormalities of perfusion and myocardial contractility have been described, manifested in the scintigraphic study, with the absence of changes in ECG and echocardiography and probably caused by sympathicotony, in analogy to severe emotional stress. We present a case of acute left ventricular dysfunction during alcohol withdrawal with significant changes in echocardiography and ECG mimicking acute coronary syndrome.