Postmortem Propofol Levels: A Case of Residual Detection Long After Administration.

Propofol has gained notoriety in recent years because of its involvement in high-profile deaths and has increasingly become a drug of misuse and abuse particularly by health care personnel with easy access to it. In addition, propofol has also been used for more nefarious purposes such as murder and suicide. These, coupled with the drug's routine use for both major and minor medical procedures, provide ample opportunities for it to be implicated as a cause of death or contributing factor. In such instances, forensic investigators may be faced with the task of not only detecting the presence of propofol on postmortem toxicology screening, but also determining if it was indeed responsible for the decedent's demise. While propofol has a high volume of distribution, it is thought to equilibrate and be eliminated rapidly and not show significant tissue accumulation. However, this article presents a case illustrating that propofol can accumulate in the tissues and may be found up to a week after administration. This capacity to accumulate implies that postmortem detection does not necessarily confirm administration near the time of death, and further investigation needs to be undertaken to determine the timeline of events in order to rule out other factors, such as recent medical interventions, before attributing the cause of death to the presence of the drug.

The Frequency of Truly Unknown/Undetermined Deaths: A Review of 452 Cases Over a 5-Year Period.

The forensic autopsy is often regarded as the final medical diagnosis and expert scientific opinion in matters of death investigation, usually in the legal setting, and sometimes in the clinical setting as well. There are however limitations to what the autopsy can answer, and sometimes the circumstances surrounding a death, despite our best efforts, are simply unable to be determined. Approximately 5% of cases reportedly remain unknown after a complete autopsy. With this in mind, we sought to examine the frequency of deaths in which both the cause and manner are unknown after complete forensic examination and autopsy. Data from 452 undetermined deaths over a 5-year period were analyzed; sudden unexpected infant deaths and decomposed or skeletonized remains were excluded, as well as those with a known cause but undetermined manner of death. After exclusion of these deaths, our analysis revealed that only 0.015% of cases during this period were truly undetermined in both cause and manner of death.

Optimizing Transfusion Ratios in Massive Transfusion Protocols: An Argument Against the 1:1:1 Dogma and Approach to Trauma Resuscitation.

We believe that the current practice of transfusing red blood cells (RBCs), plasma, and platelets in a 1:1:1 ratio is not optimal in massive transfusion protocols (MTPs) and is based on a simple yet profound misconception regarding the preparation of component blood products. This 1:1:1 approach ignores the additional fluids added for anticoagulation and preservation of the components and assumes that there is a one-size-fits-all ratio that must be used across all types of trauma. In this article, we explain the rationale behind our conclusion with supporting figures and suggest that although the 1:1:1 ratio might be within the range of hemostasis, it falls near the lower cusp of hemostasis, making it less than ideal. The patient in mind was one in whom transfusion was expected to exceed 10 units of packed RBCs (pRBCs) in a combat environment where the situation was too hectic for additional testing. The goal was to keep the patient within a hemostatic range until the crisis phase was averted and the transition could then be made to goal-directed therapy with point-of-care testing.

Utility of reflexive gomori methenamine silver and Acid-fast bacillus staining on bronchoalveolar lavage specimens.

OBJECTIVE: Reflexive testing of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) specimens with Gomori methenamine silver (GMS) and acid-fast bacillus (AFB) stains is not routinely performed by most institutions. Instead, these stains are usually ordered to evaluate for the presence of fungal elements and/or acid-fast organisms if initial histopathologic assessment suggests the presence of these pathogens. Our institution, however, performs these stains on all BAL specimens. Thus, we sought to determine whether this practice was cost effective, considering the turnaround time and diagnostic efficacy of these tests. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 488 BAL specimens performed at two military healthcare institutions over a 2-year period and performed a cost analysis with review of the impact on turnaround time. RESULTS: Of the 488 cases, we identified only 3 (~0.6%) with infections by acid-fast or fungal organisms, at an estimated total cost of $12,151.20 and an average delay of 3.0 to 3.5 hours for slide preparation. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that in a largely young and healthy population such as ours, it may be more feasible to perform these stains on BAL specimens on a case-by-case basis rather than automatically on every specimen, to control costs and enhance productivity.

Anti-c (Little c) IgM: An Uncommonly Observed but Expected Phenomenon.

The c-antigen (little c) is part of the Rh blood group system and is found in approximately 80% of the United States population. Anti-c antibody develops in individuals sensitized through previous exposure and is associated with acute and delayed hemolytic transfusion reactions as well as hemolytic disease of the newborn (HDN). Most antibodies produced against Rh antigens are of the immunoglobulin (Ig) G type. We present a case of anti-c in a 30-year-old white woman who was gravida 2 para 1 (G2P1), whose laboratory workup at the time of admission for delivery suggests recent exposure and seroconversion in the latter part of her pregnancy, with evidence of the expected but rarely demonstrated presence of anti-c IgM and IgG.

Incidence and epidemiology of cervical radiculopathy in the United States military: 2000 to 2009.

STUDY DESIGN: Epidemiological review of a prospectively collected military database. OBJECTIVE: This investigation sought to determine the incidence of cervical radiculopathy and risk factors for its development within the population of the United States military from 2000 to 2009. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Currently, the epidemiology of cervical radiculopathy remains poorly understood and risk factors for its development have not been reliably defined. METHODS: The military's Defense Medical Epidemiological Database was used to identify all servicemembers diagnosed with cervical radiculopathy (International Classification of Diseases code 723.4) between 2000 and 2009. Demographic data was obtained for all identified individuals including age group, sex, race, military rank, and branch of service. Like data was recorded for all servicemembers within the Armed Forces during the time period under study. The incidence of cervical radiculopathy was calculated and unadjusted incidence rate ratios were determined. Risk factors were analyzed by performing multivariate Poisson regression analysis, controlling for all other factors within the model. RESULTS: Between 2000 and 2009, about 24,742 individuals were diagnosed with cervical radiculopathy among a population-at-risk of 13,813,333, for an incidence of 1.79 per 1000 person-years. Statistically significant differences (P<0.001) in adjusted incidence rate ratios were identified for each successive age group with mutually exclusive 95% confidence intervals. Those age 40 years and above were found to have the greatest risk of cervical radiculopathy. Female sex (P<0.001), White race (P<0.001), senior positions within the rank structure (P<0.001), and service in the Army (P<0.001) or Air Force (P=0.01) were also identified as significant risk factors for cervical radiculopathy. CONCLUSIONS: This study is the first to attempt to define the incidence of cervical radiculopathy and characterize risk factors for its development within an American population. Findings presented here indicate that age is most likely the greatest risk factor for cervical radiculopathy, with female sex, White race, senior military positions, and Army or Air Force service also influencing risk to varying degrees.