No abstract

To better understand lightning deaths, a retrospective review of electronic records from New Mexico's Office of the Medical Investigator database was performed between 1977 and 2009 to update and assess current risk factors. Information on demographics, circumstances, autopsy, and death certificates were collected and analyzed. Fifty-four decedents were identified, ages 2-71 years old (mean 34 years old), 42 males and 12 females. Common racial/ethnic groups were non-Hispanic Whites and American Indians (together comprising 72% of all cases). Physical findings were often related to the heat carried by the electrical current including clothing alterations (29.6%) and burning of skin (53.7%). Most deaths occurred on weekend afternoons in summer months, associated with recreational activities or agricultural work, and rural locations (77.8%). Utilizing the demographic information, clustered events, and associated outdoor activities will assist in creating public awareness and provide a framework to support targeted warnings in an attempt to prevent future deaths.

Histopathologic distinction among small-cell carcinoma (SCC), pancreatic endocrine tumor (PET), and gastrointestinal carcinoids metastasized to the liver in needle core biopsies can be extremely challenging because of limited material, crush artifact, and lack of detailed clinical history. In this study, a total of 61 surgically resected or biopsied specimens, including 27 SCCs (lung, 17; colon, 1; gallbladder, 2; stomach, 1; and unknown primary, 6), 18 gastrointestinal carcinoid tumors (GICTs) (stomach, 2; small intestine, 14; colon, 2), and 16 PETs were immunohistochemically examined for the expression of IMP3, TTF-1, CDX2, and NESP55 to evaluate their diagnostic value. The results showed that 24 (89%) of 27 SCCs exhibited strong cytoplasmic staining for IMP3 in 60% to 100% of the tumor cells. Eighteen (67%) SCCs were strongly and diffusely positive for TTF-1. In the remaining 9 TTF-1-negative SCCs (including 4 extrapulmonary cases), 7 showed strong and diffuse IMP3 expression. All SCCs were negative for CDX2 except for 1 case of colonic origin that showed strong CDX2 immunoreactivity. All 16 metastatic PETs were positively stained for IMP3 with 12 cases (75%) showing a diffuse and moderate-to-strong staining pattern while they were negative for TTF-1. Six PETs exhibited moderate-to-strong positivity for CDX2 with nuclear staining in 5% to 40% of tumor cells, and 5 showed a varying degree of positivity for NESP55. Three (17%) of 18 metastatic GICTs showed moderate IMP3 staining in 50% to 90% of the tumor cells, whereas CDX2 was expressed in 17 (94%) cases with moderate-to-strong staining in 50% to 100% of tumor cells. No NESP55 immunoreactivity was detected in metastatic SCCs and GICTs. In conclusion, a panel of these 4 markers is useful in segregating among SCC, PET, and GICT to help determine the primary site of hepatic metastasis.