Table 2.
In-flight medical emergencies and outcome
| Category | All Emergencies | Aircraft Diversion |
Transport to a Hospitala |
Hospital Admissionb | Death, n |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n/N (%) | |||||
| 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 |
| Obstetric 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 |
a
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%).
b
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.
From Peterson DC, Martin-Gill C, Guyette FX, et al. Outcomes of medical emergencies on commercial airline flights. N Engl J Med 2013;368(22):2077; with permission.