DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2015.v03i02.008

Pages: 565-567

Poisoning occurs when any substance interferes with normal body functions after it is swallowed, inhaled, injected, or absorbed. The branch of medicine that deals with the detection and treatment of poisons is known as toxicology. In this retrospective study, poisoning cases autopsied during the period 1st January 2011 to 31st December 2014 were analyzed at the Department of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology, AIMS, B G Nagar, and Karnataka. In the present study, organophosphorus poisoning accounted in 22 cases, followed by alluminium phosphide in 12 cases. A study conducted in Pondicherry revealed a rapidly increasing trend in the incidence of organophosphorus poisoning over a 3-year period. Other studies also showed that organophosphorus is the most commonly used poisoning substances. In contrast, some other studies showed that majority of poisoning admissions were due to pharmaceutical agents. Poison centers are essential in the health care system and public health response to this growing problem.