An autopsy study of cases of Death Due to Poisoning in the Department of FMT, RIMS, Adilabad

Abstract

Introduction: Pesticide poisoning is one of the major problems across the world and more so in developing countries like India where there is the ease of availability of poisons. Therefore,in all cases of unnatural deaths when the cause is elusive, poisoning remains an important aspect for investigating officers and forensic experts while conducting post-mortem examinations. Methods: Detailed information of the deceased was collected from the concerned police officials and relatives of the case. Post-mortem findings were analyzed with chemical analysis reports. If the cases were treated before death information was obtained from the hospital records.Results: The chemical analysis reports of the study revealed n=120(80%) cases of poisoning with agricultural poisons. Out of n=120 cases in which agricultural poisons were used n=100 cases were poisoning with organophosphorus compounds. Carbamate and phosphide poisoning were seen in n=8 each and pyrethroid and paraquat poisoning were found in n=2 cases each. Cyanide poisoning was found in 1.33% of cases. Corrosive poisoning occurred in n=18 cases out of which phenol was used in 6.67% cases and formaldehyde in 5.33% cases. N=10 cases were due to neurotoxic poisons.Conclusion: Pesticides are frequently used in agriculture and ease of access to these products has led to the use of them for suicidal purposes. Several studies have described the gravity of acute pesticide poisoning however, only a few have described the findings during autopsy and histopathological findings. Efforts must be made to find more effective alternative pesticides which may be relatively harmless to humans.