A ten-year retrospective study on poisoning cases in two major cities of Malaysia and India.

ABSTRACT

This is a retrospective study conducted at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Delhi, India to make preliminary assessment about poisoning cases and their etiologies. The study was aimed at finding out the common age group involved, methods of poisoning, and types of substances used for committing suicide. Besides this, it also attempts to relate with ethnic groups and their choice. The commonest age group affected in both Malaysia and India appears to be the 16–30 group. Indians are more likely to commit suicide by poisoning (58.9%), compared to Chinese (28.5%), and Malays (5.3%). The majority of the cases of poisoning were suicidal in nature (58.8%), followed by accidental (16.6%), and homicidal (0.1%), while a significant number of cases were unclear in nature (24.4%). This study serves as a pilot project for more detailed prospective and retrospective studies involving multiple centres in the future.