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01-12-2018 | CE - ORIGINAL

In-flight cardiac arrest and in-flight cardiopulmonary resuscitation during commercial air travel: consensus statement and supplementary treatment guideline from the German Society of Aerospace Medicine (DGLRM)

Authors: Jochen Hinkelbein, Lennert Böhm, Stefan Braunecker, Harald V. Genzwürker, Steffen Kalina, Fabrizio Cirillo, Matthieu Komorowski, Andreas Hohn, Jörg Siedenburg, Michael Bernhard, Ilse Janicke, Christoph Adler, Stefanie Jansen, Eckard Glaser, Pawel Krawczyk, Mirko Miesen, Janusz Andres, Edoardo De Robertis, Christopher Neuhaus

Published in: Internal and Emergency Medicine | Issue 8/2018

Abstract

By the end of the year 2016, approximately 3 billion people worldwide travelled by commercial air transport. Between 1 out of 14,000 and 1 out of 50,000 passengers will experience acute medical problems/emergencies during a flight (i.e., in-flight medical emergency). Cardiac arrest accounts for 0.3% of all in-flight medical emergencies. So far, no specific guideline exists for the management and treatment of in-flight cardiac arrest (IFCA). A task force with clinical and investigational expertise in aviation, aviation medicine, and emergency medicine was created to develop a consensus based on scientific evidence and compiled a guideline for the management and treatment of in-flight cardiac arrests. Using the GRADE, RAND, and DELPHI methods, a systematic literature search was performed in PubMed. Specific recommendations have been developed for the treatment of IFCA. A total of 29 specific recommendations for the treatment and management of in-flight cardiac arrests were generated. The main recommendations included emergency equipments as well as communication of the emergency. Training of the crew is of utmost importance, and should ideally have a focus on CPR in aircraft. The decision for a diversion should be considered very carefully.

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Title: In-flight cardiac arrest and in-flight cardiopulmonary resuscitation during commercial air travel: consensus statement and supplementary treatment guideline from the German Society of Aerospace Medicine (DGLRM)
Authors: Jochen Hinkelbein
Lennert Böhm
Stefan Braunecker
Harald V. Genzwürker
Steffen Kalina
Fabrizio Cirillo
Matthieu Komorowski
Andreas Hohn
Jörg Siedenburg
Michael Bernhard
Ilse Janicke
Christoph Adler
Stefanie Jansen
Eckard Glaser
Pawel Krawczyk
Mirko Miesen
Janusz Andres
Edoardo De Robertis
Christopher Neuhaus
Publication date: 01-12-2018
Publisher: Springer International Publishing
Published in: Internal and Emergency Medicine / Issue 8/2018
Print ISSN: 1828-0447
Electronic ISSN: 1970-9366
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11739-018-1856-4

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