Citation

Birincioğlu I, Karadeniz H, Teke HY. J. Forensic Sci. 2011; 56(3): 660-663.

Affiliation

Forensic Medicine Department, Medical Faculty, Karadeniz Technical University, Adli Tip Anabilim, Dali, 61080, Trabzon, Turkey. Trabzon Branch of the Council of Forensic Medicine, Adli Tıp Kurumu Trabzon Grup Başkanlıǧı, 61030 Trabzon, Turkey. Ordu Branch of the Council of Forensic Medicine, Ordu, Turkey.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, American Society for Testing and Materials, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1556-4029.2011.01624.x

PMID

21447071

Abstract

The aim of this study was to present the characteristics of medicolegal autopsies of fatal poisonings in Trabzon (Turkey), performed from 1998 to 2008, to contribute to the available data on this topic. A retrospective study of the forensic records and the toxicological data of all autopsies performed over that period revealed that 285 cases (6.34%) of the 4492 total autopsies performed were attributed to fatal poisoning. Major toxic substances were classified in five categories as follows: carbon monoxide (CO), insecticides, prescription medications, narcotic drugs, and alcohol (methyl and ethyl). CO was the most frequent cause of death (63.2%), followed by insecticides (17.2%), prescription medications and narcotic drugs (9.8%), alcohol (7.7%), and others (mushroom, rodenticide, and botulism) (2.1%). Ages of the patients ranged from 1 to 86 years (21.55 ± 36.56).

Language: en