Abstract

Pesticide poisoning cases contribute significantly to morbidity and mortality in developing countries, especially in rural areas. In our country, usage of total pesticide increased by 4.5% in 2022 compared to 2021 and reached 55.374 tons. The increasing usage of pesticides due to population growth, their role as an toxic agent in approximately one-third of all suicides worldwide, and their easy accessibility in rural areas make pesticides an important part of forensic research in examinations of suspicious death cases. This study aims to establish and document pathological databases for tissue and organ changes observed in fatal pesticide poisoning cases. For this purpose, a total of 10.390 cases were retrospectively examined by the autopsied at the Council of Forensic Medicine of Ankara. Among these, 31 cases confirmed to have pesticide poisoning after toxicological analyses were included in the study. Blood, urine and tissue samples obtained from autopsies were evaluated together with the hospital treatment documents and available investigation data. In a total of 31 pesticide cases, 56% Organophosphate, 10% Carbamates, 10% DNOC, 6% Organochlorines, 3% Paraquat, 3% Penoxsulam, 3% Pyrethroid were determined after toxicological analysis whereas just crime scene investigation data were used as pesticide poisoning evidence in 9% of the cases. Although pesticide poisoning has been mentioned in many studies, there are limited data regarding histopathological effects. In suspected death cases with limited analysis information, the determined histopathological database are useful sources in developing preventive strategies for public health, when evaluated with crime scene investigations and treatment documents, if any, are important in developing comprehensive surveillance systems that integrate forensic data.

Key words: Postmortem, histopathology, pesticides, organophosphates, 4,6-Dinitro-o-cresol (DNOC), suicide.