Para-suicide by Self-Poisoning: Profile of Toxic agents used in Aligarh District of India

Abstract

Background: Para-suicide by self-poisoning is a major public health concern throughout the world, especially in developing countries. It is a cause of considerable morbidity and mortality as well as consuming scarce medical resources which would have been used otherwise. The survival of such patients to a considerable extent depends on the competence of the attending doctors, nature of toxic agent consumed and the availability of specific antidote.Objective: The sole purpose of this study is to provide proper knowledge and awareness of health professionals on the common toxic agents used for self-poisoning. Material and methods: This prospective study was conducted by identifying and reviewing all self- poisoning cases that were presented at the emergency department of JNMCH, A.M.U Aligarh, over a span of 2 years. A total of 375 cases of self-poisoning were entered into the emergency department register, but only 315 files were considered for this study.Results: In this study majority patients belong to 15-24 years’ age group i.e. 153 (48.57%) with male dominance. The most ingested substance for non-fatal self-poisoning was a pharmaceutical drug 71 (22.54%) followed by agrochemicals like rat poison 60 (19.05%), Aluminium phosphide 46 (14.60%) and organophosphate 33 (10.48%). There were significant (p<0.01) gender differences noted in type of substance used.Conclusion: Accessibility has been noted as a factor affecting the choice of drug used. Implementing the pesticide act strictly will allow the government to have control over the production, sale, distributi, storage, and use of pesticides.