The Need for an Implant Identification Card at Airport Security Check

Abstract

BackgroundJoint replacement surgery is having an increasing demand as national healthcare systems confront an ever ageing population. Surgical complications associated with lower limb arthroplasty are well known but less investigation has been performed examining its effect on air travel, more specifically, unwanted and significant inconvenience caused to travelers going through airport security.MethodsIn lower limb arthroplasty clinics, 50 patients who met our selection criteria were given questionnaires. Ten airport security officers from 4 international airports (London Stansted, London Gatwick, London Heathrow, and Amsterdam Schiphol International Airport) were also given a separate questionnaire. The opinion of the Civil Aviation Authority was also sought.ResultsAll 50 patients (mean age, 70.4 years; range, 55 to 84 years) who were presenting in lower limb arthroplasty clinics and who met our selection criteria volunteered to enter the study. Twenty-eight of these patients were female (mean age, 69.1 years; range, 55 to 84 years) and 22 were male (mean age, 71.2 years; range, 58 to 81 years). Of the patients, 14% stated that their joint replacements did not set off the airport security alarm. Responses were received from 10 airport security officers as well. Six airport security officers were male and 4 were female. All of the airport officers were aware of some form of implant identification card with 90% stating that these were useful to them at airport security. Eight-four percent of the patients stated that an implant identification card outlining what joint replacement they possessed and when this had been done would be very useful. Sixteen percent of the patients did not think a card would be beneficial since all of them had set off the airport alarm system only once or less in their lifetime.ConclusionsIt is the opinion of airport security officers and patients that joint replacement implant identification cards streamline airport security checks and decrease the need for more invasive searches at airport security.

The Metal in My Body: Patients’ Perception and Attitude Toward Orthopedic Implants

“…The fact that orthopedic implants are detected by metal detectors in airports is well-recognized in the literature [22][23][24][25]. When asked, patients with a metal implant stated that an implant identification card outlining what kind of implant they possessed would be very useful at airport checks [26].…”

The impact of modern airport security protocols on patients with total shoulder replacements

“…The concomitant increase in air travel screening sensitivity has resulted in a greater incidence of false alarms for patients with metal implants from prior orthopedic procedures, most notably total joint arthroplasty [6]. The increased rate of false alarms for orthopedic patients leads to anxiety and uncertainty of unexpected travel delays and more extensive searches [11]. Determining methods to reduce the need for extensive screening measures for patients with orthopedic implants is imperative to improve overall postoperative satisfaction and quality of life.…”

“…Literature on the effect of orthopedic implants triggering airport devices has been relatively scarce, with only a few studies being published since the development of stricter security measures post-9/11 [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. However, recent studies highlight the concern of high false-positive alarms in airport screening for orthopedic patients.…”

“…However, recent studies highlight the concern of high false-positive alarms in airport screening for orthopedic patients. In particular, false-alarm rates of patients with orthopedic implants have been reported between 0% and 70% [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]. Additionally, only one study since 9/11 has assessed the experiences of airport screening in patients with shoulder arthroplasty implants [7].…”

“…Furthermore, 59 patients with isolated total shoulder arthroplasty (TSA) demonstrated false alarm rates of 55.4%. This is inconvenient to many patients with orthopedic implants, as patients are frequently subjected to more extensive searches, including showing their operative scar, searches in private rooms, and travel delays greater than 25 minutes [11].…”