Dana Troxclair, MD, Instructor of Pathology at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, will present mortality data on Louisiana storm victims at a poster presentation at the 2007 Gulf Coast Post-Katrina Forum of the Gulf States Alliance on August 20, 2007 from 9:45 - 10:15 a.m., 2:45 - 3:15 p.m. and 4:30- 6:00 p.m. at the Beau Rivage Hotel in Biloxi, MS. The research team also included Drs. Robin McGoey, Gary Lipscomb, Richard Tracy, and William Newman, all of the Department of Pathology at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans (LSUHSCNO). Drs. Troxclair, Tracy and Newman were among the LSUHSCNO forensic pathologists who performed autopsies on bodies found during rescue and recovery missions following Katrina.

LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans pathologists were responsible for performing more than 820 autopsies on recovered Louisiana victims and report that autopsy findings comprised the single most successful identification technique.

According to the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, 1,464 Louisiana residents perished as a result of Hurricane Katrina and the flooding resulting from failed levees. Of those, 910 victims were examined and identified at two Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team (DMORT) locations.

The LSUHSCNO pathologists were tasked with conducting post-mortem examinations for the primary purpose of identification of the dead. Examinations included field case notes, personal effects, fingerprints, dental, x-ray and autopsy findings, DNA, and anthropology. Nine hundred ten post-mortem files including more than 1,000 dental charts and 30,000+ images have been compiled and stored digitally. Pre-Katrina US Census data on Orleans Parish were analyzed for comparison.

Ninety-six percent of deaths were storm-related and 97% of individuals were positively identified. Twenty-eight percent were identified using autopsy findings-the technique that yielded the highest number of positive ids.

The latest mortality data found that 75% of victims were residents of Orleans parish with 64% older than 65 years of age. The racial distribution was: 56% African-American, 40% Caucasian, 4% Asian, 4% Native American, and 2% Hispanic. For comparison, the pre-storm published Census data concluded that only 12% of the Orleans parish population was older than 65 years of age with a racial distribution as follows: 68% African-American, 29% Caucasian, 3% Hispanic, 2% Asian, and 0.2% Native American. Twenty-six percent of families were below the national poverty line.

The researchers conclude that when final hurricane mortality data is compared to pre-storm Census data, the belief that the hurricane disproportionately destroyed any one race is not substantiated. In fact, deaths among Caucasian, Asian and Native Americans were all overrepresented; while the African-American and Hispanic populations were less impacted. Under appreciated is the fact that our elderly and poor populations, regardless of race, were the most devastated.

"We present that a lesson learned is about those left behind due to lack of physical or financial means," notes Dr. Troxclair. "Furthermore, based on the remarkable success of the autopsy as a means of human identification, we emphasize its paramount importance as a component of a nation's response to mass disasters. However, with 135 Louisiana residents still categorized as missing, and 23 human remains yet to be identified, the final impact of the storm remains uncertain."

LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans