[Reports on medico-legal data from the massive-investigation performed by the Medico-Legal Society of Japan--a statistical study of death by poisoning. Investigation Committee of the Medico-Legal Society of Japan].

A statistical study was made on the fatal poisoning cases examined by forensic pathologists in Japan, in the period of 1975-1984. The total number of the cases was 1559:29.9% were poisoning by carbon monoxide, 10.9% by the other gases (cyanide, liquefied petroleum gas, hydrogen sulfide and freon), 10.9% by alcohol (mean blood ethanol level was 4.27 mg/ml), 9.3% by medicines (bromvalerylurea, barbiturates, chlorpromazine etc.), 9.2% related to burning (mean CO-Hb level was 47.9%), 7.4% by pesticides (organophosphate, paraquat, carbamate, chlorinated hydrocarbon etc.), 3.5% by methamphetamine and 11.2% by the others, including 4.9% by oxygen deficiency. These cases were found most frequently in winter and 41% of the victims died within 30 minutes after ingestion or inhalation. With regard to age distribution, the peak of frequency was 41 to 45 in male, and not characteristic in female. Samples were mainly the blood, urine and stomach contents, and analyzed by gas chromatography, spectrophotometry, ultraviolet spectrometry, thin-layer chromatography, atomic absorption spectrometry and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.