European Journal of Cardiovascular Medicine

A poison is any substance which causes ill health or death due to the local or systemic effects or both.⁽¹⁾ Poisoning is one of the commonest methods of suicide in India as insecticides, pesticides and domestic poisons are easily available to the public. In general suicidal poisoning affects young adults more frequently than accidental poisoning does young children².National data in India estimated 70,000deaths due to poisoning per year with the rate of 2.4 per 100,000 population which is very significant³.As India is an agricultural country, pesticides and insecticides are easily available to the houses of the farmers. Other domestic poisons are rat killer paste used to kill the rodents and corrosive poisons used to clean the toilets. As poisoning is an unnatural death, all cases of deaths due to poisoning were brought for autopsy by the Police. Government Medical college, Pudukkottai is one of the youngest medical college serving the rural public with well developed emergency medicine department. Inspite of emergency life saving measures, which were performed with zero delay, deaths became inevitable, due to delay in reaching the hospital by the victims, unavailability of the transport in remote areas, long distance from the place of the patients to the hospital, higher dose of the consumed poison, higher toxicity of the consumed poison, newer chemicals used as rodenticide for which no anti dote is available and the treatment is only symptomatic.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

1. To analyse the types of poisons used by the public for committing suicide.
2. To analyse about the poisons which resemble natural product which causes accidental poisoning.
3. To know about the sex ratio, vulnerable age group, and manner of death in poisoning cases.
4. To know about the availability of health care centres and transport facilities in poisoning cases

The study was started from obtaining the Permission from the Intitutional ethics committee. Study design: Retrospective study.

All cases of deaths due to poisoning from August 2022 t0 August 2024 brought for autopsy at Government Medical College, Pudukkottai. The data collected from Government Medical college Accident register report,Police inquest report,and Post-mortem report of the department of Forensic Medicine and toxicology.

Inclusion criteria: All cases of deaths due to Poisoning brought for Post-mortem at Government Medical College, Pudukkottai.

Exclusion criteria:cases of deaths due to animal bites,insect bites,decomposed bodies,and cases with inaccurate data are excluded.

During the study period total of 76cases were analysed. The most affected group was 20-40yrs 29 cases (38.15%) the economically productive age group who are subjected to financial and family stress followed by the age group of 40-60 yrs 27 cases (35%). In the extremes of the age group0-10years one case 1.31% and cases above 60 years 13 cases 17.10% which is similar to other studies. The youngest case was 8years old female a case of accidental poisoning and the oldest was 92 years male a case of suicidal poisoning due to ageing and loneliness.

There is a predominance of males over females with 43cases of males 56.57% and 33cases of females 43.42%. No transgender cases were reported^5,6.

In majority of the cases the manner of death was suicidal in74cases 97.36%,2cases of accidental poisoning 0.02% and no cases of homicidal poisonings.

Among the types of poison consumed 48 cases (63.15%) consumed OPC^4,5,6, followed by rat killer paste 13cases (17.10%) paraquat 7cases (0.92%), oleander seeds 4cases (5.2%), shaving lotion 1case (1.31%), corrosive acid 1case (1.31%), tablet poison1case (1.31%), unknown poison1 case (1.31%). This is also similar to other studies where OPC and rat killer paste are the commonest poisons consumed.

On analysing the treated case and brought dead cases, 38victims (50%) survived for 1-3days. 22 victims (28.94%) survived for 3-10days,10victims (13.15%) survived less than 1day,3victims (3.94%) survived more than 10 days and 3victims (3.94%) were brought dead showing almost more cases received treatment in Hospital.

Table 1: Age wise distribution of fatal poisoning cases.

Table 2: Sex wise distribution of fatal poisoning cases

Table 3: Distribution of the Types of poison consumed by the victims.

Table 4: Distribution of survival period among the victims

Table 5: Manner of deaths among the fatal poisoning cases.

Restrictions: Unable to get the educational status and the occupation in all cases.

Recommendations and conclusion: All agricultural poisons to be sold under proper precautions that it should be used for agricultural purpose only with proper protective equipments.

To keep a record of the agricultural poisons sold by the seller. To keep a periodic check that the banned poisons are not sold.

The vulnerable age group are counselled periodically by suicide help lines by displaying the contact no in public reachable areas.

As human life is valuable and there is a suffering of the dependants when the earning member of the family dies of poisoning,sale and usage of the poisons should be monitored.

Public should be cautioned that poison causes very painful and miserable death.

To keep a record and monitor whether cases of death due to poisoning decreases year by year

Financial Assistance: None.

Conflict of Interest: None

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