A Systematic Review of Pediatric and Adult In-Flight Medical Emergencies

Table 1

Summary of included studies that focused on in-flight medical emergencies.

Source (country)	Purpose of the study	Study design	Population	Age, sex	Group (n)	Source of data	Duration
Moore et al. (USA)	To determine the incidence and character of pediatric emergencies on commercial airline and to evaluate current in-flight medical kits.	Observational retrospective review	Pediatric	Mean patient age; 6.8 years,; Sex unknown	222	Telemedicine database	7 years
Rotta et al. (USA)	To characterize in-flight pediatric fatalities onboard commercial airlines	Retrospective cohort study	Pediatric	Median patient age 3.5 months; (range 1mo-15 yrs); Female 50%	10	Telemedicine database	3.5 years
Hinkelbein et al. (Germany)	To gather data on incidence, nature, and medical equipment use for in-flight emergencies	Retrospective analysis of secondary data (survey)	Adult and Pediatric	Mean patient age 54.1 years; (range 15-79 yrs); Female 40.7%	54	Physician members of an aerospace medical society	1 month
Szmajer et al. (France)	To analyze the causes and outcomes of in-flight emergency calls from a commercial airline	Retrospective study	Adult and Pediatric	Mean patient age 41.12 years; (range 1- 84 yrs); Female 37.7%	380	Telemedicine database	1 year
Matsumoto et al. (USA)	To ascertain the incidence of in-flight psychiatric emergencies, their associated factors, and outcomes.	Retrospective study	Adult and Pediatric	Mean patient age; 39.6 years; (range 10- 80 yrs); Female 73%	1,375	Telemedicine database	1 year
Kesapli et al. (Turkey)	To evaluate the incidence and status of urgent medical conditions, the attitudes of health professionals, the adequacy of medical kits and training of cabin crew	Retrospective cohort study	Adult and Pediatric	Median patient age 45 years; (range 0- >=86 yrs); Female 53.2%	1,312	Commercial airline database	3 years
Peterson et al. (USA)	To describe in-flight medical emergencies and the outcomes of these events.	Retrospective cohort study	Adult and Pediatric	Mean patient age; 48 years; (range 14 days-100 yrs); Sex unknown	11,920	Telemedicine database	2.8 years
Weinlich et al. (Germany)	To identify which patients require diversion due to a medical incident on a commercial flight	Prospective study	Adult and Pediatric	Mean patient age; 58 years; (range <1 – 91 yrs); Sex unknown	3,364	Commercial airline database	3 years
Urwin et al. (UK)	To characterize medical emergencies on board of commercial flights	Retrospective review	Adult and Pediatric	Mean patient age; 42 years; (range 1- 87 yrs); Female 56%	273	Telemedicine database	5 years
Chan et al. (USA)	To determine incidence, post-flight treatments, outcomes, morbidity, and mortality of in-flight medical emergencies	Retrospective study	Adult and Pediatric	Mean patient age; 46.6 years; Female 54.7%	744	EMS, ED, and inpatient hospital records of in-flight medical emergencies from a major international airport	1 year
Speizer et al. (USA)	To evaluate the potential usefulness of any emergency medical kit	Retrospective study	Adult and Pediatric	Age unknown; Female 50.8%	260	ER, hospital, airport first-aid station medical records	6 months
Delaune et al. (USA)	To determine the incidence of each type of in-flight medical complaint, the appropriateness of medical kit contents, which factors lead to aircraft diversion, and which factors affect the appropriateness of the decision to divert	Observational retrospective review	Adult and Pediatric	Not reported	2,279	Telemedicine database	1 year
Baltsezak (China)	To characterize medical emergencies on board of commercial flights	Retrospective study	Adult and Pediatric	Not reported	191	Telemedicine database	1 year
Hordinsky (USA)	To characterize in-flight medical emergencies and efficacy of medical kit usage	Retrospective review	Adult and Pediatric	Not reported	1,016	Commercial airline database	1 year
Alves et al. (USA)	To gather data on outcomes and prognostic factors for victims of in-flight cardiac arrest	Retrospective cohort study	Adult	Mean patient age 61.9 years; (SD 15.62); Female 36.5%	394	Telemedicine database	10 years
Brown et al. (USA)	To describe the characteristics and outcomes of AED use during in-flight emergencies	Retrospective descriptive study	Adult	Mean patient age; 58 years; Female 36%	169	Telemedicine database	4.7 years
Hung et al. (UK)	To provide description of in-flight medical emergencies and systematically examine predictors of medical flight diversions and deaths	Retrospective cohort study	Adult	Age unknown,; Female 53.9%	4,068	Telemedicine database	5 years
Page et al. (USA)	To analyze the AED use on board of a commercial flight	Retrospective cohort study	Adult	Mean patient age; 58 years; Female 34%	200	Commercial airline database	2 years
Cottrell et al. (USA)	To analyze the effectiveness of enhanced medical kit in treating in-flight emergencies on board of a commercial flight	Retrospective review and survey study	Adult	Mean patient age; 54 years (males); 48 years (females); Female 43%	362	Commercial airline database, hospital records, and patient and health care providers questionnaires	1 year
Valani et al. (Canada)	To determine the causes of in-flight medical diversions from a commercial airline	Retrospective review	Not reported	Not reported	220	Telemedicine and commercial airline databases	5 years
Quereshi et al. (UK)	To analyze medical emergencies on board of single commercial airline	Retrospective review	Not reported	Not reported	507	Commercial airline database	6 months
Sirven et al. (USA)	To analyze the frequency of neurologic events during commercial airline flights and to assess whether onboard emergency medical kits are adequate for such events	Retrospective study	Not reported	Not reported	2,042	Telemedicine database	5 years
Donaldson et al. (Australia)	To analyze the types of medical emergencies encountered during commercial air travel	Retrospective study	Not reported	Not reported	454	Commercial airline database	1 year
Sand et al. (Germany)	To document medically relevant emergencies in airline passengers	Retrospective study	Unknown	Unknown	10,189	Commercial airline database	6 years
Sand et al. (Germany)	To analyze different forms of documentation for in-flight medical emergencies use by commercial airlines	Documentation analysis	N/A	N/A	10 airlines	In-flight medical emergency documentation forms from commercial airlines	Unknown