A Comparative Overview of Poisoning in Multidimentional Perspective

Background: Poisoning cases occur universally and have plagued mankind since antiquity. Keeping this in view, this study was contemplated to find the comparative overview of poisoning in India and Saudi Arabia to knows how the racial and cultural factors influence the pattern of poisoning. Material and Methods: A systematic web based search was conducted and original studies on poisoning published in India and Saudi Arabia were analyzed with respect to age, gender, category of poison, and overall distribution of toxic agents. Results: The study concluded that the male to female ratio in India was 1.53:1 while in Saudi Arabia it was 1.2:1.In India, the highest frequency of poisoning occurred with agrichemicals while in Saudi Arabia it was mainly due to pharmaceutical drugs. In India the most common mode of poisoning is intentional (70.6%) and it is commoner in the age group 21-30 years (31.1%). This is in contrast with Saudi Arabia, which showed that most of the cases of poisoning is accidental (54.1%) and occurred in children <10 years. Conclusion: The study suggested various similarities and variations in the pattern of poisoning in the two countries with regards to distribution of poisoning among female and young adult victims based on contextual factors like circumstances of poisoning and differential access to the toxic agents. Careful and well planned strategies may reduce the incidence of poisoning in these countries