Correspondence (letter to the editor): Similar Data Collected

We are pleased to bring to your readers’ attention our recently collected data, which were made available by the participating airlines. On the basis of 10 189 medical emergencies on board commercial aircrafts we were able to describe a similar distribution pattern as the authors described in their article (1). Our study also showed that in more than 80% of cases, a doctor or other medical professional was present. While we conducted a thorough international analysis of the different forms of documentation of medical emergencies on board commercial airplanes we did not find any register that documented emergencies across airlines. On the basis of data from 10 international airlines we found that the current ways of documenting medical emergencies differ widely. Surprisingly, none of the airlines met the sample requirements of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), published as “Sample Medical Incident Report” (2). Even though Lufthansa with its emergency medical equipment clearly exceeds the legal requirements, as was shown in the article, we were able to show that this seems to be a welcome exception to the rule. In a study of the emergency medical equipment of 12 European airlines, none met the requirements of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) (3). Two of the airlines were so scantily equipped that adequate emergency medical assistance would not have been possible on board. Improved standardization of the emergency medical equipment and of the documentation of medical emergencies on commercial airplanes therefore seems indicated.