A study on chemical analysis of toxic substances in Autopsy samples

The purpose of a toxicological investigation on postmortem specimens is to detect the presence of alcohol, drugs or other substances that could directly or indirectly be the cause of death. The collection of suitable and representative samples is an essential requirement. The present study is a retrospective study of chemical analysis of viscera collected from the medico-legal autopsies conducted at the Mortuary of Madras medical college, Chennai over a period of one year from 1st of January 2014 to 31st of December 2014. During this period, the number of autopsies done was 2332 and 492 visceral samples were sent for chemical analysis. Out of 492 cases, 398 cases belong to males which account for 80.9%, while female cases were 94 forming 19.1%. Out of 492 cases for which samples were sent for chemical analysis, 66 were tested positive for toxic substances. Of this 66poisoning cases, 46 cases had a history of poisoning, 5 were brought dead cases, 3 were RTA cases, 4 were hanging and 8 had a history of fall from height. Out of 136 suspected poisoning case, only 46 cases were positive constituting only 33.8% which could be attributed partly to the duration of hospitalization, time of sample collection, type of poisoning, the quantity consumed etc. The maximum death occurred in the age group of 20-40 years which needs attention.