A prospective study of poisoning cases due to paraquat at a tertiary care centre-Chennai

Drugs and chemicals are a great danger to human lives but most of the poisoning in our country is due to pesticides, herbicides and insecticides. This paper is a study conducted in the department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology in Sri Ramachandra Medical College and Research Institute, Chennai, from June 2014-June 2015. All cases of poisoning were analysed, and in particular, Paraquat was analysed according to socio-demographic pattern, target organ damage, histo-pathological changes and forensic science report. 6 deaths were reported out of 12 paraquat cases which accounts to 50% fatality. Paraquat, which has both corrosive as well as systemic effects, causes rapid death a result of which, it is considered more dangerous and fatal when compared to other agricultural poisons. When compared to other studies, the incidence of paraquat has increased drastically in recent days, which in turn increases the number of fatalities.