Profile of Rat Killer Poisoning Cases in a Tertiary Care Hospital at Mysore

Introduction: Rat killer poison consumption cases are among the second most common poisoning in developing countries. It is associated with significant mortality and morbidity. However, some of the cases get discharged without any effects. This is because of the variability in content. So, the chemical content of the rat killer poison decides the mortality and morbidity. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the clinical outcome of the rat killer poisoning cases with its relation to the chemical content of the poison. Materials and Methods: It is a retrospective study conducted on patients admitted to K R Hospital, Mysore. As per inclusion criteria and exclusion criteria cases are included and excluded, and a prestructured proforma was used, and data were entered. The study is approved by the Institutional Ethical Committee. Result: Most of the cases were young adults. Both the genders were equally affected. High mortality rate found in aluminum phosphide and zinc phosphide containing compounds consumption with cardiotoxicity and cardiogenic shock. Those cases with yellow phosphorus poisoning were stable on day 1 or 2, worsened on day 3 or 4 with multiple organ dysfunction syndromes. Conclusion: So, the chemical content of poison is important for the prognosis and also intensive monitoring and early interventions.