POISONS IMPLICATED IN HOMICIDAL, SUICIDAL AND ACCIDENTAL CASES IN NORTH-WEST PAKISTAN
Abstract
Background: Pakistan has one of the highest prevalence of poisoning in the world. However, limited data exist on the frequency of poisons implicated in homicidal, suicidal, and accidental cases in North-West Pakistan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa). Methods: This retrospective study of 353 cases and biological specimens of poisoning received at the department of Forensic medicine and toxicology, Khyber Medical College Peshawar from 13 districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Frequency of poisoning was assessed by testing each specimen for 17 different poisons. Results: Of all the specimens, 250 (70.8%) specimens tested positive and the rest didn’t show any indication of poisoning (n=103, 29.2%). The most frequent poisons detected were benzodiazepines (total n=75), organophosphates (total n=58), phencyclidine (total n=30) and morphine (total n=23). Gender had a significant association with benzodiazepines (p=0.011), tricyclic antidepressants (p=0.001), and organophosphates (p<0.001). Organophosphates were the most common cause of poisoning in females while benzodiazepines were the most common cause of poisoning in males. Conclusion: Poisoning by benzodiazepines, organophosphates and phencyclidine are the most common causes of intoxication in population of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Source of poisoning varies with gender for organophosphates, benzodiazepines and tricyclic antidepressants.Keyword: Poisoning, Organophosphates, Benzodiazapines, phencyclidine, Morphine, PakistanReferences
Shahid M. Deliberate self-harm prevention in Pakistan. J Coll Physicians Surg Pak 2013;23(2):101–2.
World Health Organization. Public health impact of pesticides used in agriculture. 1990.
Shahid M, Khan MZ, Afzal B, Khan ST, Nakeer R. Deliberate self-harm patients visiting public and private emergency departments of Karachi. J Pak Psychitar Soc 2014;11(1):28–30.
Ahmed A, Begum I, Aquil N, Atif S, Hussain T, Vohra EA. Hyperamylasemia and acute pancreatitis follo wing organophosphate poisoning. Pak J Med Sci 2009;25(6):957–61.
Faiz MS, Mughal S, Memon AQ. Acute and late complications of organophosphate poisoning. J Coll Physicians Surg Pak 2011;21(5):288–90.
Jamil H. Organophosphorus insecticide poisoning. J Pak Med Assoc 1989;39(2):27–31.
Shaikh MA. Mortality in patients presenting with organophosphorus poisoning at Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences. 2011.
Singh A, Choudhary SR. Accidental poisoning in children. Indian pediatr 1996;33(1):39–40.
Khan MM, Reza H. Benzodiazepine self-poisoning in Pakistan: implications for prevention and harm reduction. J Pak Med Assoc 1998;48(10):293–5.
Khan MM, Reza H. Methods of deliberate self-harm in Pakistan. Psychiatrist 1996;20(6):367–8.
Saleem U, Mahmood S, Ahmad B, Erum A, Azhar S, Ahmad B. Benzodiazepine Poisoning cases: A Retrospective Study from Faisalabad, Pakistan. Pak J Pharm. 2010;23(1):11–3.
Turabi A, Hasan S, Ara J, Ahmed M. Drug overdose; study conducted at National Poison Control Center. Pak J Pharmacol 2006;23:31–7.
Khan TM, Mehr MT, Ullah H. Drugs-facilitated street and travel related crimes: a new public health issue. Gomal J Med Sci 2015;12(4).
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Journal of Ayub Medical College, Abbottabad is an OPEN ACCESS JOURNAL which means that all content is FREELY available without charge to all users whether registered with the journal or not. The work published by J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad is licensed and distributed under the creative commons License CC BY ND Attribution-NoDerivs. Material printed in this journal is OPEN to access, and are FREE for use in academic and research work with proper citation. J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad accepts only original material for publication with the understanding that except for abstracts, no part of the data has been published or will be submitted for publication elsewhere before appearing in J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad. The Editorial Board of J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad makes every effort to ensure the accuracy and authenticity of material printed in J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad. However, conclusions and statements expressed are views of the authors and do not reflect the opinion/policy of J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad or the Editorial Board.
USERS are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. This is in accordance with the BOAI definition of open access.
AUTHORS retain the rights of free downloading/unlimited e-print of full text and sharing/disseminating the article without any restriction, by any means including twitter, scholarly collaboration networks such as ResearchGate, Academia.eu, and social media sites such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Google Scholar and any other professional or academic networking site.