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On a wing and a prayer: medical emergencies on board commercial aircraft

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 May 2015

Robert Drummond  and
Alan J. Drummond
Robert Drummond*
Affiliation:
St.Mary’s Hospital Center, Montreal, Que.
Alan J. Drummond
Affiliation:
Perth and Smiths Falls District Hospital, Perth, Ont.
*
St. Mary’s Hospital Center, 3830 Lacombe Ave., Montreal QC H3T 1M5; fax 514 486-7144, robdrum mond@videotron.ca

Abstract:

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Medical emergencies sometimes arise in the isolated and confined environment of a commercial aircraft. Because a physician passenger may be on board in 40% to 90% of all commercial flights, it follows that this physician may be asked to render assistance to an acutely ill passenger. Although data suggest that the incidence of such emergencies is low, the potential for serious events necessitates a degree of familiarity with the nature of emergencies in the air and with the options available to the travelling physician.

Keywords

commercial aviationinflight medical emergenciesmedical kitsautomated external defibrillators
Type
Controversies • Controverses
Information
Canadian Journal of Emergency Medicine , Volume 4 , Issue 4 , July 2002 , pp. 276 - 280
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians 2002

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