Epidemiological Profile of Complete Suicidal Poisoning Cases Autopsied at Autopsy Centre, RIMS, Ranchi

Suicidal behaviour is any deliberate action that has potentially life-threatening consequences, such as taking a drug overdose, deliberately consuming poison, hanging, drowning, burn etc. The aim of this study was to illustrate the epidemiological profile of complete suicidal poisoning cases autopsied at Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences, Ranchi, India.
All cases autopsied at autopsy centre of department of forensic medicine and toxicology between April 2013 to October 2014 evaluated. Data obtained from the Information regarding the socio-demographic, mode of suicides, time of incidence, place of incidence, occupation, etc were gathered from the police papers like inquest report, dead body challan etc, and through detailed interviews of the relatives, neighbours, friends, and police officials accompanying the dead bodies.
Total 3492 cases were autopsied, out of which only 180 cases were due to acute self-poisoning, suicidal in nature. This was 5.2% of the total cases autopsied at centre. The ratio of male and female suicide by poisoning was almost equal (M: F = 1.22: 1). The majority of victims were married, unemployed, from joint family and middle economic class. The most important agents of poisoning were agrochemical pesticides among these majorities were due to organophosphate.
More than 50% of victims from both male and female were in between 15 years to 30 years. The maximum victims were consumed poison at evening (between 4 PM to 8 PM) during summer season. The Agrochemicals were the preferred agents with organophosphates alone responsible for about 50% of suicidal mortalities followed by aluminium phosphide.