Summary
Health emergencies attended by spanish health professionals on commercial flights
Affiliation of the authors
DOI
Quote
Cabrera Paz S, Coello Graffigna A, Padrón Fontes E, Simón Martín MN, Herranz Duarte JI, Matos Castro S. Health emergencies attended by spanish health professionals on commercial flights. Rev Esp Urg Emerg. 2024;3:209–13
Summary
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE. Health care professionals who travel on commercial flights may come into contact with various types of health emergency. Spain does not have data on such encounters, however, and the international literature on the subject is scarce. The aim of this study was to estimate the incidence and describe the characteristics of health emergencies attended by Spanish doctors and nurses on commercial flights.
MATERIAL AND METHODS. A questionnaire was developed in November 2022 and posted on Google Docs to survey Spanish health professionals who had traveled on a commercial flight within the past 5 years. We collected data describing the respondents and their work, the types of health emergency attended, and the outcomes.
RESULTS. A total of 863 health professionals responded; 93.5% were nurses. The respondents reported flying a mean (SD) 4.11 (5.19) times per year; in the 5-years before the survey, their trips on domestic flights were more common (mean, 8.57 [14.36] flights) than international ones. A health emergency was witnessed by 23.9% of the respondents (49.1% of the doctors and 22.1% of the nurses; P = .001). Involved were a total of 268 emergencies, 57.8% and 35.1% on international and domestic flights, respectively. Most flights (88.8%) continued on to their destinations, and there were no differences between international and domestic flights in that respect (P = .23). On landing, 49.3% of the patients were discharged from care, and 44% were transferred to a hospital. Hospital transfer was significantly more common when flights were diverted for an emergency landing (90%, P = .001). Most travelers requiring in-flight care had cardiovascular events (62.7%); syncope was the most common type (46.6%). Allergic reactions were the most frequent diagnosis on flights inside Spain. All other diagnoses were more common on international flights. Two deaths (0.7%) were reported. The emergencies that were most associated with need for an emergency landing were cardiorespiratory arrests (50%), other cardiovascular events (17.9%), neurologic events (17.4%), and psychiatric crises (11.8%).
CONCLUSION. More information about health problems that occur on commercial flights is needed for planning training for health professionals that considers the specific pathophysiologic variables affected by high altitudes.