Frequency and Types of Medical Emergencies Among Commercial Air Travelers

Abstract

We performed a one-year prospective survey of emergency medical responses to travelers at an international airport to observe the frequency and type of emergencies experienced in flight and before and after travel. Emergency personnel evaluated a total of 1107 people; 754 (68%) were travelers, 232 (21%) were employees of the airport or airlines, and 118 (11%) were area residents. Of the 754 travelers, 190 (25%) experienced their problem during flight; the aircraft made an unscheduled landing for seven of these travelers. The frequency of in-flight emergencies was 1 per 753 inbound flights, or 1 per 39,600 inbound passengers. The most common emergency problems among all travelers were abdominal pain, chest pain, shortness of breath, syncope, and seizures; 25% of the emergencies were caused by minor trauma. The majority of emergencies among air travelers (75% [564/754]) happened on the ground within the air terminal. Most problems (84% [633/754]) were effectively handled by personnel trained as emergency medical technicians. The types of problems encountered suggest that the "doctors only" medical kit now required aboard US air carriers contains clinically useful items and should continue to be required on board.

Fatalities Above 30,000 Feet

“…When a medical emergency arises during flight, care is provided by crewmembers and volunteers with a medical background and increasingly more often in consultation with a specialized ground-based medical support (GBMS) center (3)(4)(5)(6)(7). The majority of pediatric in-flight emergencies are related to infections (fever and otitis media), neurological conditions (syncope and seizures), and respiratory issues (asthma exacerbations) (7).…”

Y a t-il un médecin dans l’avion?

“…La moitié de ces incidents requiert un avis médical. Cet avis est obtenu à bord dans 69 % des cas, auprès d'un médecin (40 %), d'une infirmière (25 %) ou d'un « paramedic » (4 %) présent dans l'avion [12][13][14]. Dans 79 % des cas, il y a concordance entre le diagnostic porté dans l'avion et le diagnostic final [14].…”

Notfälle auf Langstreckenflügen

“…Im internationalen Flugverkehr sind auf etwa 1 Mio. Flugpassagiere eine außerplanmäßige Zwischenlandung aus medizinischer Indikation [6,8,27] zu erwarten. Weltweit werden jährlich nur ca.…”