TRENDS IN POISONING CASES: AN AUTOPSY-BASED STUDY AT KHYBER MEDICAL COLLEGE, PESHAWAR

Objective To determine trends of poisoning cases in autopsy examinations conducted at Khyber Medical College, Peshawar. Materials and Methods This descriptive cross-sectional study enrolled 262 cases of poisoning presented for autopsy at the Department of Forensic Medicine, Khyber Medical College from 1st January 2018 to 31st December 2022. All poison-based autopsy cases of any age and gender were included in the study. Cases with Incomplete documentation and referred from other districts were excluded from the study. Results: Our study showed males 228/262 (87%) were more prevalent than females 34/262 (13%). Moreover, 21-30 years of age were 82/262 (31.3%)individuals. Out of 262 subjects, 50.4% (n=132) were poisoned with a single drug, though 49.6% (n=130) were having multiple drugs. The poisons found in the study were morphine (58.0%, 152), methamphetamines (34.4%, 90), benzodiazepines (34.4%, 90), Tetrahydrocannabinol (19.8%, 52), amphetamines, (15.6%, 41), phosphine (8.8%, 23), Tricyclic antidepressants (8.4%, 22), carbon monoxide (3.8%, 10), methyl alcohol (1.5%, 4), ethyl alcohol (1.1%, 3), propranolol (0.8%, 2), arsenic (0.4%, 1) and tissue paper (0.4%, 1). The trends of poisoning have been looked through the period of 5 years, indicating the use of morphine, amphetamines, and methamphetamines were escalating in the meantime, whereas the frequency of usage of benzodiazepines remain sustained Conclusion: Our study concluded that poisoning was found more prevalent in males in the middle age group. In addition, the analysis of the last five years revealed that trends of morphine and methamphetamine poisoning increased while phosphine was found to be decreased for the cause of death determination. Keywords: Trends, Poisoning, Autopsy