Epidemiology of Inflight Medical Events

Document Type : Mini Review

Authors

Aeronautical Expertise Department, Percy Military Hospital, French Military Health Service, Paris, France

Abstract

Introduction: Since the 1950s, air travel has grown exponentially. In 2018, the number of international air passengers was estimated at 4.1 billion. Air travel exposes the passenger to a number of constraints (like physical constraints, stress) that can be correlated and lead to an inflight medical event, especially for passengers with chronic conditions or fragile health.
Methods: In June 2017, a mini review of the literature was conducted in order to summarize the data on inflight medical events and their frequency, types, and consequences.
Results: The most frequent inflight medical events are syncope and lipothymic discomfort, followed by digestive disorders, cardiorespiratory symptoms, neuropsychiatric disorders, and trauma. In almost two-thirds of all cases, these medical events are linked to a pre-existing pathology. There is no reliable register of inflight medical events, but their number is estimated to be between 120 to 350 each day throughout the world.
Conclusion: The definition of an inflight medical event deserves to be specified, and the collection of these events needs to be standardized. This will help bring about a better understanding of the issue and maybe raise awareness among passengers with chronic diseases or fragile health and their general practitioners.

Keywords

References

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History

  • Receive Date: 01 October 2018
  • Revise Date: 17 December 2018
  • Accept Date: 15 January 2019
  • First Publish Date: 01 March 2019

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