Fatal drug poisonings: medico-legal reports and mortality statistics

Fatal intoxications in a Swedish forensic autopsy material during 1992–2002

“…This is in contrast to a recent Finnish study [33], where the proportion where a single drug was detected in fatal intoxications was larger in suicides when compared to uncertain cases and accidents, 67.7% versus 18.9 and 13.4%, respectively. In the present study, each substance detected has been included in the analysis in cases of poly-substance intoxication, explaining the difference between the total number of deaths and the number of substances detected.…”

A retrospective analysis of data from toxic substance-related cases in Northeast China (Heilongjiang) between 2000 and 2010

“…When comparing the incidence of these cases between men and women, the majority of the victims were men in all types of cases, except for suicide and rape. This finding was in agreement with those of several studies indicating that men are more likely to be attacked [23][24][25]. The underlying reason is thought to be mainly male characteristics, with men being more likely to intensify conflicts and face retaliation by others.…”

Poisoning deaths in Poland: Types and frequencies reported in Łódź, Kraków, Sosnowiec, Gdańsk, Wrocław and Poznań during 2009–2013

“…The most commonly used drugs were benzodiazepines, responsible for the largest proportion of deaths, which is also confirmed by other studies [7,[21][22][23][24]. In our opinion, the large recorded number of cases of benzodiazepine poisoning may reflect their extensive sales and overall use [25,26]. In contrast to our data, Handley and Flanagan [5] data from investigation of poisoning deaths in Poland may be very useful for the development of preventive programs connected with intentional poisonings.…”