Is There a Doctor Onboard? Medical Emergencies at 40,000 Feet

Howard J Donner

doi:10.1016/j.emc.2017.01.005

Is There a Doctor Onboard? Medical Emergencies at 40,000 Feet

Emerg Med Clin North Am. 2017 May;35(2):443-463. doi: 10.1016/j.emc.2017.01.005.

Author

Howard J Donner¹

Affiliation

¹ National Wilderness Medicine Conferences, 3790 El Camino Real, Suite 2029, Palo Alto, CA 94306, USA; Medical Operations, NASA Johnson Space Center, 2101 NASA Road 1 (SD3), Houston, TX 77058, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].

Abstract

It is estimated 2.75 billion people travel aboard commercial airlines every year and 44,000 in-flight medical emergencies occur worldwide each year. Wilderness medicine requires a commonsense and improvisational approach to medical issues. A sudden call for assistance in the austere and unfamiliar surroundings of an airliner cabin may present the responding medical professional with a "wilderness medicine" experience. From resource management to equipment, this article sheds light on the unique conditions, challenges, and constraints of the flight environment.

Keywords: FAA; Flight attendants; In-flight medical emergencies; Wilderness medicine.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Aircraft*
Altitude Sickness / therapy
Cosmic Radiation / adverse effects
Electric Countershock / methods
Emergencies*
Emergency Treatment / methods*
Environmental Exposure / adverse effects
Environmental Exposure / prevention & control
Humans
Hypoxia / prevention & control
Jet Lag Syndrome / prevention & control
Travel*
Wilderness Medicine / methods