Paraquat Poisoning: Insights from Autopsy, Histology, and Liquid Chromatography with Tandem Mass Spectrometry in Multidisciplinary Forensic Toxicology Practice

Abstract

The herbicide paraquat (PQ) is responsible for a significant number of fatalities resulting from self-poisoning. Nevertheless, only a limited number of comprehensive studies focusing on fatal PQ poisoning, which include examination of autopsy findings, histopathology, and quantitative analysis of post-mortem samples, have been published. This study aimed to evaluate autopsy findings, histopathology, and quantitative analysis of PQ in post-mortem human serum samples using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), a simple, sensitive, and specific method. Autopsies were performed on all deaths due to PQ poisoning, and serum samples were sent to the toxicology laboratory for chemical analysis. The method was successfully applied to seven human serum samples, and the results indicate its reliability for detecting PQ. The study reports fatal serum PQ levels ranging from 0.5 to 372.0 µg/mL. The comprehensive data presented in this study can be useful for further research and practical applications.

Keywords

• paraquat
• poisoning
• autopsy
• histology
• LC-MS/MS