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L Riddick

Publications and source records attributed to L Riddick.

34 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1989

Forensic autopsy in the elderly.

We analyzed deaths in a geriatric population investigated by the Mobile County (Alabama) Coroner's Office during the three years of 1983 through 1985 inclusively. These subjects died both within and outside hospitals and thus provide broad representation of all types of deaths in the elderly. Of the total number of deaths investigated by the Coroner's Office, 924 of the deceased (39%) were 65 years old or older; they represent 15% of the deaths occurring in Mobile County in this age group. Of these 924 deaths, 209 (23%) were studied by autopsy; this number is 36% of the total autopsies done on subjects aged 65 or more in Mobile County during this three-year period and 89% of autopsies done after death from trauma (ie, homicide, suicide, accident, or undetermined). The potential value of medicolegal investigative data with regard to mortality statistics and the elderly is emphasized.

Accidents↗
PubMed1988

Subaortic stenosis and sudden death.

An obese white boy, 16 years old, collapsed and suddenly died while walking with friends. Since early childhood he had been known to have mild subaortic stenosis. At age 6 he exhibited first-degree heart block during an electrocardiographic exercise test. Neither then nor thereafter was he known to have any unusual symptoms until his death. Postmortem examination revealed marked cardiac enlargement without asymmetry or much dilatation. There was mild subaortic stenosis, but the heart was otherwise grossly normal. Special studies of his cardiac conduction system demonstrated fibrotic obliteration of the His bundle and proximal portions of both bundle branches. The same region had a much thickened central fibrous body from which the subaortic stenosis ridge protruded. Small arteries in the vicinity of the atrioventricular node were markedly narrowed. Because those vessels provide some of the blood supply to the His bundle region, their narrowing may have contributed to the fibrotic abnormalities observed. The extent of destruction of the His bundle makes a lethal failure of atrioventricular conduction the most likely terminal event.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Posttraumatic stress disorder. A real entity in death investigation.

Posttraumatic stress disorder, formally known as battle fatigue, is a real entity in those offices where investigators and pathologists perform the role of death certifiers. Failure to acknowledge this problem may predispose the unsuspecting agency employees to frequent job changes, disruptive behavior, and substance abuse.

Burnout, Professional↗
PubMed1987

Earlobe creases and coronary atherosclerosis. The view from forensic pathology.

In several clinical studies, the diagonal earlobe crease has been statistically related to the presence of ischemic heart disease. Only one study of a relatively small number of hospitalized patients attempts to relate the earlobe crease with amount of stenotic coronary atherosclerosis demonstrated at necropsy. We examined the relationship between the degree of coronary atherosclerosis and the presence of a diagonal earlobe crease in 800 consecutive autopsies performed for medicolegal reasons and thus including a wide spectrum of subjects. Statistical analysis by the chi 2 test demonstrated a positive correlation (p less than 0.01) between the presence of the diagonal earlobe crease and obstructive coronary atherosclerosis narrowing on at least one major coronary artery greater than 75%. We conclude that the autopsy findings support the clinical observations that the diagonal earlobe crease is a cutaneous sign of obstructive coronary atherosclerosis and that the sign should be used accordingly.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Maximum survival in pediatric trauma: the ideal system.

One hundred consecutive pediatric trauma deaths (0.01-18 yrs) were analyzed for their survival potential in an optimally functioning EMS/Trauma system in Mobile, Alabama (1980-1982). Thorough evaluation of all phases of care by paramedic run sheets, ER records, hospital records, and autopsy reports, revealed that 47/100 victims could have never survived due to the extreme nature of their injuries, and 53/100 victims had the potential of surviving if the EMS/Trauma system functioned optimally. Errors in care were identified in those cases deemed potentially salvageable. Identification phase errors were found in 79% of potentially salvageable victims. Field treatment errors occurred in 36%, transport errors in 23%, and definitive care errors in 17% of those considered to be potentially salvageable. By evaluating where in an EMS/Trauma system errors occur and then by correcting those errors, it should be possible to minimize the mortality rate in pediatric trauma.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

Retroperitoneal chondrosarcoma presenting with pleural effusion: a case report.

An adolescent male patient presented with pleural effusion of undetermined etiology which was unresponsive to antituberculous therapy. He died suddenly a few months later and was found at autopsy to have suffered from acute catastrophic pulmonary occlusion, secondary to embolization from retroperitoneal chondrosarcoma which had invaded and occluded the pulmonary arteries via the inferior vena cava. The rarity of this phenomenon in children prompted this report.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1978

Alcohol-associated deaths in the District of Columbia--a postmortem study.

Ethyl alcohol and its lethal effects were present either in the victim or in the environment, including persons responsible for a given death, in 53% of the cases autopsied during a six-month period at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in the District of Columbia. The results of this small, admittedly biased, sample indicate that the acute and chronic effects of alcohol are a major public health problem in this jurisdiction. Comparative figures from other medical examiner's systems suggest the national prevalence of the problem and confirm the gross inadequacy of data from death certificates for such research. Only when the combination of accurate pathological, toxicological, and historical information concerning all types of deaths is available can reliable statistics regarding the numbers and types of deaths related to alcohol be obtained.

Accidents↗
PubMedDate not supplied

One fish, two fish, we QC fish: controlling data quality among more than 50 organizations over a four-year period.

EPA is conducting a National Study of Chemical Residues in Lake Fish Tissue. The study involves five analytical laboratories, multiple sampling teams from each of the 47 participating states, several tribes, all 10 EPA Regions and several EPA program offices, with input from other federal agencies. To fulfill study objectives, state and tribal sampling teams are voluntarily collecting predator and bottom-dwelling fish from approximately 500 randomly selected lakes over a 4-year period. The fish will be analyzed for more than 300 pollutants. The long-term nature of the study, combined with the large number of participants, created several QA challenges: (1) controlling variability among sampling activities performed by different sampling teams from more than 50 organizations over a 4-year period; (2) controlling variability in lab processes over a 4-year period; (3) generating results that will meet the primary study objectives for use by OW statisticians; (4) generating results that will meet the undefined needs of more than 50 participating organizations; and (5) devising a system for evaluating and defining data quality and for reporting data quality assessments concurrently with the data to ensure that assessment efforts are streamlined and that assessments are consistent among organizations. This paper describes the QA program employed for the study and presents an interim assessment of the program's effectiveness.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Separation and detection of three aryltins by capillary electrophoresis-UV/VIS diode array.

The trialkyltins and triphenyltins have widespread application as fungicides, antifouling coatings for porous surfaces, herbicides, insecticides, and generic biocides. Due to the varied toxicity of each species of organotins, it is important that methods address the speciation of the organotins. Traditional methods call for the hydrolysis and subsequent derivatization of the organotins before analysis. These methods can be time consuming, derivatization can be incomplete, and high levels of background interference produce difficulties in identification and quantitation. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (U.S. EPA) current methods do not address the speciation of organotins; instead they only analyze for total tin. It is important, because of the differing levels of toxicity of the various congeners of organotins, to speciate them from each other and inorganic tin. The research reported in this paper addresses the use of CE with UV/VIS diode-array detection to separate and detect three phenyltins (i.e., tri-, di-, and mono-), without the need to either derivatize or complex them.

Electrophoresis, Capillary↗