Title

Profile of Poisoning Cases in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Tamil Nadu, South India – A 4 Year Retrospective Study.

Authors

Sasikumar S, J James Rajesh, R Sangeetha.

 Abstract

Background: In India the incidence of poisoning ranges between 4 and 6 for per lakh population, with poisoning being considered as the fourth most common cause of death in India. The sociodemographic and epidemiological factors are the factors that which influence the nature of the poisoning agent which have an impact in the clinical manifestations and the outcome of the poisoning patient. Methodology: A retrospective study was conducted in the department of forensic medicine for a period of 6 months by retrospectively analysing the data of the poisoning patients who got admitted in our hospital during the period between Jan 2015 and Dec 2019. Results: Among the various poisonous substances that were taken by the study subjects the most common substance used by them was cow dung powder followed by organo-compound substances, sedation tablets, rat poison and oleander seeds.76% of the patients were cured and discharged from the hospital after the treatment, 25 (8.5%) study subjects were expired, 41(14%) of them got discharged against medical advice and 3(1%) of them had absconded from the hospital during the treatment. Conclusion: The overall mortality rate due to poisoning was found to be 8.5%.With increasing rates of the incidence of suicide due to depression or work-related stress, there is a need for early detection and prevent further complications by creating more awareness through various help groups at the primary care level.

 Keywords

Suicide, Poisonous agents, Outcome, Regression analysis.

 DOI