Does India Have Adequate Analytical Toxicology Laboratories?
While Poison Control Centres (PCCs) need not necessarily have an attached analytical toxicology laboratory, and can function purely as Information Centres, it is always desirable to have at least a small facility attached for analyzing body fluids and other samples for common poisons or drugs. This can greatly enhance the utility of a PCC by guiding physicians about the exact agent involved in a particular case of poisoning when the identity is unclear, as well as in helping to enhance the quality of management in some cases. Admittedly, scientific methods of analysis for poisons have only recently been developed. Until the 19th century, doctors and scientists harboured faulty notions about the effect of poisons on the human body, and on the methods of detecting them. However, we have come a long way since then to the present era of sophisticated analytical techniques which can detect even micrograms of virtually any poison in almost any kind of biological specimen. Today, an analytica
