Medical emergencies on board commercial airlines: is documentation as expected?
نویسندگان
چکیده
INTRODUCTION The purpose of this study was to perform a descriptive, content-based analysis on the different forms of documentation for in-flight medical emergencies that are currently provided in the emergency medical kits on board commercial airlines. METHODS Passenger airlines in the World Airline Directory were contacted between March and May 2011. For each participating airline, sample in-flight medical emergency documentation forms were obtained. All items in the sample documentation forms were subjected to a descriptive analysis and compared to a sample "medical incident report" form published by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). RESULTS A total of 1,318 airlines were contacted. Ten airlines agreed to participate in the study and provided a copy of their documentation forms. A descriptive analysis revealed a total of 199 different items, which were summarized into five sub-categories: non-medical data (63), signs and symptoms (68), diagnosis (26), treatment (22) and outcome (20). CONCLUSIONS The data in this study illustrate a large variation in the documentation of in-flight medical emergencies by different airlines. A higher degree of standardization is preferable to increase the data quality in epidemiologic aeromedical research in the future.
منابع مشابه
Surgical and medical emergencies on board European aircraft: a retrospective study of 10189 cases
INTRODUCTION In-flight medical and surgical emergencies (IMEs) onboard commercial aircrafts occur quite commonly. However, little epidemiological research exists concerning these incidents. METHODS Thirty-two European airlines were asked to provide anonymous data on medical flight reports of IMEs for the years 2002 to 2007. The total number of incidents was correlated to revenue passenger kil...
متن کاملCommercial aviation in-flight emergencies and the physician.
Commercial aviation in-flight emergencies are relatively common, so it is likely that a doctor travelling frequently by air will receive a call for help at some stage in their career. These events are stressful, even for experienced physicians. The present paper reviews what is known about the incidence and types of in-flight emergencies that are likely to be encountered, the international regu...
متن کاملOutcomes of medical emergencies on commercial airline flights.
BACKGROUND Worldwide, 2.75 billion passengers fly on commercial airlines annually. When in-flight medical emergencies occur, access to care is limited. We describe in-flight medical emergencies and the outcomes of these events. METHODS We reviewed records of in-flight medical emergency calls from five domestic and international airlines to a physician-directed medical communications center fr...
متن کاملEpidemiology of Medical Events on a Commercial African National Airline Carrier Between 2009 and 2011
Introduction: An estimated 3.8 billion passengers traveled on commercial aircraft in 2016, of whom close to 1.5 billion crossed international boundaries. Modern commercial aircrafts can carry up to 800 passengers and can fly more than 18 hours. Although not very common, in-flight medical incidents can result in flight diversions that are costly and extremely inconvenient. The a...
متن کاملIn-flight medical emergencies: time for a registry?
When a passenger becomes sick while flying on board a commercial airline flight, the cabin crew commonly solicit the assistance of a volunteer physician. Although in-flight medical emergencies take place every day, little is known about the epidemiology of these events. A new study by Sand and colleagues sheds light on the incidence of specific illnesses that occurred on board commercial flights.
متن کامل