A case of fatal trichlorfon and methidathion poisoning.

A 50-year-old man, suspected of ingesting organophosphorus insecticides, was found dead in a graveyard. In the gas chromatography-mass spectrometric screening, trichlorfon and methidathion were detected in his gastric contents. The quantitative analysis for trichlorfon and methidathion was carried out by high-performance liquid chromatography. The concentrations (microg/ml or microg/g) of trichlorfon and methidathion were 409 and 1.9 in the heart blood, 281 and 0.4 in the femoral vein blood, 430 and 5.8 in the cerebrum, 385 and 5.1 in the brain stem, 256 and 2.8 in the right apex of lung, 449 and 15.1 in the left basal of lung, 856 and 131.0 in the liver, 460 and 1.6 in the right kidney, 390 and 1.9 in the left kidney, 524 and 3.4 in the spleen, 152 and 0.6 in the thigh muscle, 207 and 0.9 in the urine, 20,000 and 19,400 in the gastric contents, respectively. According to the autopsy finding and toxicological analysis, the cause of death was judged to be acute trichlorfon and methidathion poisoning.