Universität zu Köln

Hinkelbein, Jochen, Neuhaus, Christopher ORCID: 0000-0001-7262-3723, Boehm, Lennert, Kalina, Steffen and Braunecker, Stefan (2017). In-flight medical emergencies during airline operations: a survey of physicians on the incidence, nature, and available medical equipment. Open Access Emerg. Med., 9. ALBANY: DOVE MEDICAL PRESS LTD. ISSN 1179-1500

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Abstract

Background: Data on the incidence of in-flight medical emergencies on-board civil aircraft are uncommon and rarely published. Such data could provide information regarding required medical equipment on-board aircraft and requisite training for cabin crew. The aim of the present study was to gather data on the incidences, nature, and medical equipment for in-flight medical emergencies by way of a survey of physician members of a German aerospace medical society. Materials and methods: Using unipark. de (QuestBack GmbH, Cologne, Germany), an online survey was developed and used to gather specific information. Members of the German Society for Aviation and Space Medicine (Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Luft-und Raumfahrtmedizin e.V.; DGLRM) were invited to participate in the survey during a 4-week period (21 March 2015 to 20 April 2015). Chi-square test was used for statistical analysis (p<0.05 was considered significant). Results: Altogether, 121 members of the society responded to the survey (n=335 sent out). Of the 121 respondents, n=54 (44.6%) of the participants (89.9% male and 10.1% female; mean age, 54.1 years; n=121) were involved in at least one in-flight medical emergency. Demographic parameters in this survey were in concordance with the society members' demographics. The mean duration of flights was 5.7 hours and the respondents performed 7.1 airline flights per year (median). Cardiovascular (40.0%) and neurological disorders (17.8%) were the most frequent diagnoses. The medical equipment (78.7%) provided was sufficient. An emergency diversion was undertaken in 10.6% of the cases. Although using a different method of data acquisition, this survey confirms previous data on the nature of emergencies and gives plausible numbers. Conclusion: Our data strongly argue for the establishment of a standardized database for recording the incidence and nature of in-flight medical emergencies. Such a database could inform on required medical equipment and cabin crew training.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID ORCID Put Code Hinkelbein, Jochen UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Neuhaus, Christopher UNSPECIFIED orcid.org/0000-0001-7262-3723 UNSPECIFIED Boehm, Lennert UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Kalina, Steffen UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Braunecker, Stefan UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED
URN:	urn:nbn:de:hbz:38-243882
DOI:	10.2147/OAEM.S129250
Journal or Publication Title:	Open Access Emerg. Med.
Volume:	9
Date:	2017
Publisher:	DOVE MEDICAL PRESS LTD
Place of Publication:	ALBANY
ISSN:	1179-1500
Language:	English
Faculty:	Unspecified
Divisions:	Unspecified
Subjects:	no entry
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Keywords Language COMMERCIAL AVIATION; DIVERSIONS; AIRCRAFT; AIR Multiple languages Emergency Medicine Multiple languages
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	http://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/id/eprint/24388