A Study of Epidemiology of Poisoning Cases Brought For Autopsy at Tertiary Health Care Centre in South-Western Maharashtra: A Ten-Year Retrospective Study

Abstract

Introduction: Present study is the study of epidemiology of poisoning cases brought for autopsy at tertiary
health care centre in South-Western Maharashtra by finding out the incidence, pattern, sociodemographic
factors, toxic agents, seasonal and other factors related to their deaths.
Material and Methods: Present study is a retrospective cross-sectional study done in mortuary of a tertiary
health care centre in South-Western Maharashtra. Study included total 104 cases of death due to poisoning
from Jan 2009 to Dec 2018 and the data collected from inquest papers, autopsy reports and regional forensic
science laboratory reports was analysed using a structured proforma in Microsoft excel sheet.
Result: Out of 2570 medico legal autopsies conducted during the study period, deaths due to poisoning
comprised 104 cases i.e. an incidence of 4.05%. Maximum deaths due to poisoning are found to be due to
Intentional self-poisoning (suicides) and rural areas are more affected than the urban areas. Most commonly
used toxic substance for poisoning is found to be pesticides and the maximum deaths occurred during the
monsoon season. Gender-wise analysis shows that death due to poisoning is more common in males and
majority of victims irrespective of their gender were married.
Conclusion: Study provides crucial information on various sociodemographic factors related to poisoning
deaths in South Western Maharashtra which is relevant in understanding the causative factors behind the
mortality due to poisoning and also helpful in devising preventive measure to reduce the loss of human life.