Diagnostic Considerations
Histamine toxicity can be difficult to distinguish from true food allergy, especially in isolated cases. The absence of any history of allergic reactions to the same food, especially if combined with a cluster of cases associated with eating the same meal, can be helpful in making this distinction, since these would suggest a diagnosis of histamine toxicity. [1]
Staphylococcus aureus causes very similar symptoms with sudden onset nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain within 2 hours after eating contaminated food. These patients, however, may develop fever, while patients with histamine toxicity do not. Also, patients with histamine toxicity typically have flushing or rash, while patients with Staphylococcus food poisoning do not. [6]
In patients who have been drinking alcohol, other problems to be considered in the differential diagnosis of histamine toxicity from fish include the following:
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Chloral hydrate interaction (Mickey Finn)
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Tyramine and monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI) interaction
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Disulfiram-type reaction
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Ethanol flush
Considerations not related to alcohol ingestion include the following:
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Chinese restaurant syndrome
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Niacin flush
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Acute allergic reaction
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Mastocytosis
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Migraine or cluster headache
Consumption of escolar (rudderfish, oilfish) can cause keriorrhoea, an oily diarrhea, because of the high waxy ester content of these fish. However, escolar consumption can also result in histamine toxicity, as was documented in a case report of a large outbreak. [17]
Differential Diagnoses
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Anaphylaxis
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Angioedema
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Ciguatera Toxicity
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Niacin-induced flushing
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Seafood Toxicity
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Shellfish Toxicity
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Tetradotoxin Toxicity
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Mackerel.
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An example of a typical histamine toxicity rash, in this case from tuna. Image courtesy of Amanda Oakley, MBChB, FRACP.
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An example of a typical histamine toxicity rash, in this case from tuna. Image courtesy of Amanda Oakley, MBChB, FRACP.
