The 8th edition of TOXOCON 2014 conference organised by Dr. Kusa Kumar Shaha was held on 9th and 10th August 2014 at JIPMER, Pondicherry. This year’s conference theme “Household Poisons - The Lurking Danger in Every Home" was set to explore the toxicological aspects, diagnosis, management and prevention of poisoning through common household agents.
This year, almost 120 delegates attended the conference across the two days. The program included 1 keynote presentation, 10 invited guest speakers, 40 paper presentations and 8 poster presentations.
The conference was inaugurated on 9th August 2014 by Dr. T. S. Ravikumar, Director, JIPMER and felicitated by Dr. Balachander J, Medical Superintendent, JIPMER and Dr. Mahadevan, Dean, JIPMER. Dr. T. S. Ravikumar stressed on the importance of introducing clinical toxicology in a hospital setup.
The inaugural address was followed by a keynote address by Dr. Jacob Varghese, Administrative Head & Consultant - Emergency Medicine, Narayana Institute of Cardiac Sciences, Bangalore, which was an eye opener. This was followed by very informative and inspiring guest lectures on the session ‘Prelude to Domestic Toxicology’, the guest speakers were - Dr K Thomas, Sr Scientist, NIPC, AIIMS New Delhi; Dr Steven Aibor Dkhar, Professor of Pharmacology, JIPMER; Dr S Senthilkumaran, Head, Dept of Accident & Emergency Medicine, Sri Gokulam Hospital, Salem, Tamil Nadu; Dr. Sharda Shah Peshin, National Poisons Information Centre, AIIMS, New Delhi; Dr. Amita Srivastava, National Poisons Information Centre, AIIMS, New Delhi.
Post-lunch was scheduled for scientific sessions which included fascinating presentations by Professors, Associate Professors, Lecturers and Residents from all over the country.
Post-tea session was scheduled for Toxoquiz-2014. It was an overwhelming success, in which over 30 enthusiastic participants put their knowledge in Toxicology to the test.
The day concluded with a grand banquet which provided a sumptuous buffet to the satisfaction of all the delegates.
Day 2 commenced with invited guest speakers sharing their experience and knowledge on the topic ‘Clinical Domestic Toxicology’, the guest speakers were Dr R.P. Swaminathan, Professor and HOD of Medicine, JIPMER; Dr Ramesh Kumar R, Asst Professor of Paedriatics, JIPMER; Dr Bhoopendra Singh, Sr. Toxicologist (Associate Professor), RIMS, Ranchi.
This was followed by scientific sessions during which post graduates eagerly awaited their turn in expressing their budding knowledge in the field of toxicology through paper presentations.
Post-lunch commenced with invited guest speakers sharing their ideas on the session ‘Forensic & Analytical Domestic Toxicology’ the guest speakers were Dr Sitansu Sekhar Kar, Associate Professor of Preventive and Social Medicine, JIPMER; Dr. Gurudatta. S. Pawar, Professor and Head, Chennai Medical College & R C.
This was followed by an informal session inviting feedback from the delegates which we are glad was overwhelmingly positive.
This was followed by a valedictory function during which the charge of preserving the flame of TOXOCON was handed over by Dr. Silvano Dias Sapeco, out-going President, Indian Society of Toxicology to Dr Kusa Kumar Shaha, Organizing Chairman, TOXOCON-8.
This was followed by prize distribution and vote of thanks.
The Inaugural Address of the Admiral was followed by a brief history of the evolution of the Indian Society of Toxicology by Dr. (Mrs) P.G. Nayar, Professor of Pharmacology. A summary of the genesis and subsequent activities of the AIMS Poison Control Center was outlined by Dr. B. Umadethan, the Head of the Dept of Forensic Medicine.
The scientific program began with a series of invited lectures. The first was a thought provoking talk by Ian Simpson of Oxford University, a well known herpetologist working with the WHO Snakebite Treatment Group. Mr. Simpson shocked the audience by his assertion that while Indian doctors had for long assumed that there were only 4 major venomous snakes in India (the Big Four: Common Cobra, Common Krait, Russell’s Viper, and Saw-scaled Viper), there was actually a fifth one (Hump-nosed Pit Viper, making it the Big Five), which had consistently been overlooked or misidentified. Scarcely had the audience recovered from this stunning bit of news, than the next speaker Dr. Andrew Dawson of the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka attacked the long cherished Big Two antidotes for organophosphates (atropine and oximes), and said that we must take a relook at some older drugs (clonidine, diazepam, and magnesium). This was followed by a doomsday lecture by the “Lead Man”
of India, Dr. T. Venkatesh of St. Johns Medical College, Bangalore who sounded a note of warning on the dangers of ignoring chronic heavy metal toxicity, particularly that due to lead, which according to him was causing a silent epidemic in many parts of India. The fourth presentation was by Dr. Ragini Vaishnav, a clinical pharmacologist from the Sultanate of Oman who shed some light on the underestimated toxicity of traditional medicines, and declared that herbal medicine is not necessarily safe medicine. The final talk was delivered by Dr. K. Sadasivan Pillai, a Research Scientist from Orchid Pharmaceuticals, Chennai, who highlighted the importance of statistics in toxicological research.
After a much needed tea break, the scientific paper presentations by delegates began in earnest, simultaneously in two separate halls. Over the next several hours, interrupted only by a refreshing working lunch, fifty odd papers covering an incredibly wide range of topics were presented by researchers and investigators of every hue, each vying with the other for the awards on hand. At the end of it all, Dr. B. D. Gupta, Ms. Hira Andrade et al, Dr. Sukhes Mukherjee et al, and Dr. Anita B. Rao et al walked away with the honors.
It was now time for some brainstorming in the form of a Panel Discussion on “Trouble Shooting in Toxicology.” This lasted for an hour, and after such a long and arduous day, it was but natural that the audience needed to unwind. So, what better way to do this than watch a scintillating hour of song and dance by the talented medical students of AIMS!
The evening concluded with a sumptuous banquet that extended late into the night, before the delegates finally called it a day.
