Abstract
Airlines may require a physician to provide medical clearance if they suspect that a passenger is suffering from a condition that would be considered a potential hazard to the safety of the aircraft or adversely affect the welfare and comfort of the other passengers and/or crew. In addition, patients with a variety of medical disorders may be placed at greater risk of adverse health consequences unless preexisting conditions are stabilized prior to departure. The purpose of this chapter is to describe conditions that may place the patient at additional risk during flight, and outline steps to mitigate these risks.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Aerospace Medical Association, Medical Guidelines Task Force. Medical guidelines for airline travel, 2nd ed. Aviat Space Environ Med. 2003;74:A1–A19.
O'Donnell A, Donnini G, Nguyen VH. Air quality, ventilation, temperature, and humidity in aircraft. ASHRAE J. 1991;33:42–6.
International Air Transport Association. Guidance on managing medical events. Quebec: Safety and Flight Operations; 2015. ISBN:978-92-9252-698-6.
Dine CJ, Kreider ME. Hypoxia altitude simulation test. Chest. 2008;133(4):1002–5.
Bunch A, Duchateau FX, Verner L, et al. Commercial air travel after pneumothorax: a review of the literature. Air Med J. 2013;32:268–74.
Lapostolle F, Surget V, Borron SW, et al. Severe pulmonary embolism associated with air travel. N Engl J Med. 2001;345:779.
Chandra D, Parisini E, Mozaffarian D. Meta-analysis: travel and risk for venous thromboembolism. Ann Intern Med. 2009;151:180.
MacCallum PK, Ashby D, Hennessy EM, et al. Cumulative flying time and risk of venous thromboembolism. Br J Haematol. 2011;155:613.
Clarke MJ, Broderick C, Hopewell S, et al. Compression stockings for preventing deep vein thrombosis in airline passengers. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2016;9:CD004002.
Cesarone MR, Belcaro G, Nicolaides AN, et al. Venous thrombosis from air travel: the LONFLIT3 study--prevention with aspirin vs low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) in high-risk subjects: a randomized trial. Angiology. 2002;53:1.
Ball ST, Pinsorsnak P, Amstutz HC, Schmalzried TP. Extended travel after hip arthroplasty surgery. Is it safe? J Arthroplast. 2007;22:29.
Pearce E, Haffner F, Brady LB, Sochor M, et al. Non-urgent commercial air travel after acute coronary syndrome: a review of 288 patient events. Air Med J. 2014;33(5):222–30.
Wang W, Brady WJ, O'Connor RE, et al. Non-urgent commercial air travel after acute myocardial infarction a review of the literature and commentary on the recommendations. Air Med J. 2012;31:231–7.
Huch R, Baumann H, Fallenstein F, et al. Physiologic changes in pregnant women and their fetuses during jet air travel. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1986;154(5):996–1000.
Barros A, Duchateau FX, Huff JS, Verner L, O’Connor RE, Brady WJ. Non-urgent commercial air travel after non-hemorrhagic cerebrovascular accident. Air Med J. 2014;33:106–8.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Sutherland, S.F., O’Connor, R.E. (2018). Preflight Therapies to Minimize Medical Risk Associated with Commercial Air Travel. In: Nable, J., Brady, W. (eds) In-Flight Medical Emergencies. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74234-2_14
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74234-2_14
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-74233-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-74234-2
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)