Drew C Peterson, Christian Martin-Gill, Francis X Guyette, Adam Z Tobias, Catherine E McCarthy, Scott T Harrington, Theodore R Delbridge, Donald M Yealy
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 from January 1, 2008, through October 31, 2010. We characterized the most common medical problems and the type of on-board assistance rendered...
May 30, 2013: New England Journal of Medicine