Table 1.
In-Flight Medical Emergencies According to Medical-Problem Category and Outcome.
| Category | All Emergencies | Aircraft Diversion | Transport to a Hospital* | Hospital Admission† | Death |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| no./total no. (%) | no. | ||||
| All categories | 11,920/11,920 (100) | 875/11,920 (7.3) | 2804/10,877 (25.8) | 901/10,482 (8.6) | 36 |
| Syncope or presyncope | 4463/11,920 (37.4) | 221/4463 (5.0) | 938/4252 (22.1) | 267/4123 (6.5) | 4 |
| Respiratory symptoms | 1447/11,920 (12.1) | 81/1447 (5.6) | 311/1371 (22.7) | 141/1336 (10.6) | 1 |
| Nausea or vomiting | 1137/11,920 (9.5) | 56/1137 (4.9) | 243/1025 (23.7) | 61/994 (6.1) | 0 |
| Cardiac symptoms | 920/11,920 (7.7) | 169/920 (18.4) | 370/813 (45.5) | 162/770 (21.0) | 0 |
| Seizures | 689/11,920 (5.8) | 83/689 (12.0) | 224/626 (35.8) | 75/602 (12.5) | 0 |
| Abdominal pain | 488/11,920 (4.1) | 50/488 (10.2) | 164/412 (39.8) | 41/391 (10.5) | 0 |
| Infectious disease | 330/11,920 (2.8) | 6/330 (1.8) | 45/239 (18.8) | 8/232 (3.4) | 0 |
| Agitation or psychiatric symptoms | 287/11,920 (2.4) | 16/287 (5.6) | 38/249 (15.3) | 17/244 (7.0) | 0 |
| Allergic reaction | 265/11,920 (2.2) | 12/265 (4.5) | 40/233 (17.2) | 8/229 (3.5) | 0 |
| Possible stroke | 238/11,920 (2.0) | 39/238 (16.4) | 92/214 (43.0) | 46/196 (23.5) | 0 |
| Trauma, not otherwise specified | 216/11,920 (1.8) | 14/216 (6.5) | 34/185 (18.4) | 5/180 (2.8) | 0 |
| Diabetic complication | 193/11,920 (1.6) | 15/193 (7.8) | 45/181 (24.9) | 13/172 (7.6) | 0 |
| Headache | 123/11,920 (1.0) | 10/123 (8.1) | 23/108 (21.3) | 4/107 (3.7) | 0 |
| Arm or leg pain or injury | 114/11,920 (1.0) | 6/114 (5.3) | 27/100 (27.0) | 4/98 (4.1) | 0 |
| Obstetrical or gynecologic symptoms | 61/11,920 (0.5) | 11/61 (18.0) | 29/53 (54.7) | 11/47 (23.4) | 0 |
| Ear pain | 49/11,920 (0.4) | 1/49 (2.0) | 2/43 (4.7) | 1/43 (2.3) | 0 |
| Cardiac arrest | 38/11,920 (0.3) | 22/38 (57.9) | 14/34 (41.2) | 1/6 (16.7) | 31 |
| Laceration | 33/11,920 (0.3) | 1/33 (3.0) | 3/26 (11.5) | 0/25 | 0 |
| Other | 821/11,920 (6.9) | 62/821 (7.6) | 162/705 (23.0) | 36/679 (5.3) | 0 |
| Unknown | 8/11,920 (0.1) | 0/8 | 0/8 | 0/8 | 0 |
*
Postflight follow-up data on transport to a hospital by emergency-medical-service personnel were available for 10,877 of the 11,920 passengers with in-flight medical emergencies (91.2%).
†
Postflight follow-up data on hospital admissions were available for 10,482 of the 11,920 passengers with in-flight medical emergencies (87.9%). Admitted patients were defined as those transported to the hospital who were admitted from the emergency department or who left the emergency department against medical advice, excluding patients who died.