Dr. Scott Kapoor, an emergency physician, recently assisted a passenger experiencing chest pains during a flight to San Francisco. Several doctors, including Kapoor, responded to the call for medical assistance due to a passenger’s discomfort.
The situation resolved without the need to divert the plane for further treatment, highlighting the occurrence of in-flight medical emergencies that passengers may underestimate.
Astudy analyzing nearly 78,000 cases between January 2022 and December 2023 revealed that in-flight medical emergencies occur approximately once every 212 flights, with healthcare professionals, predominantly physicians, volunteering to offer assistance.
Most incidents affected women, with long-haul flights of six hours or more constituting nearly half of the reported cases.
Airlines have established protocols to manage in-flight medical emergencies by engaging trained physicians who can provide guidance remotely if onboard volunteers are unavailable.
Here’s a typical response by airlines to in-flight medical emergencies:
Initial Assessment of the Situation
Major airlines follow a structured procedure when addressing passengers facing in-flight medical issues, focusing on common emergencies like loss of consciousness, gastrointestinal problems, and cardiac or respiratory concerns.
Flight crews are equipped to administer basic first aid, including CPR, basic life support, and using automatic external defibrillators.
Flight attendants carry first-aid kits containing over-the-counter medications, anti-nausea drugs, bandages, among other supplies, escalating to seeking onboard medical expertise if required.
According to Dr. Vincent Poirier, flight attendants may call for medical assistance, not limited to doctors but also nurses or paramedics.
Contacting Ground Support
Each airline’s response protocol for medical emergencies can vary, with MedAire, a provider of ground medical support, facilitating connections between onboard callers and emergency physicians.
Advanced medical monitoring devices onboard enable MedAire to receive critical data remotely, guiding the administration of medications or determining the need for diversion.
While flight attendants are limited in their medical capabilities, services like MedAire recommend seeking assistance from qualified medical volunteers onboard.
Transport Canada mandates specific medical supplies on flights carrying over 100 passengers, such as epinephrine and nitroglycerin, with airlines like Air Canada and Air Transat stocking additional medications like haloperidol and lorazepam.
Encouraging Volunteer Support
Medical professionals volunteering during in-flight emergencies, though challenging due to the aircraft environment, can significantly impact patient outcomes by collaborating with ground support.
Dr. David Kodama emphasizes that doctors acting in good faith are protected by Good Samaritan laws, reducing legal risks in case of complications.
Passengers can reduce their risk of emergencies by consulting travel medicine experts before flights and carrying necessary medications onboard.
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