NEW APPROACH

FOR IN FLIGHT MEDICAL CARE

Dr. Vincent Feuillie

Air France Medical Department

87th AsMA Annual Meeting - Atlantic City- Wednesday 27th April 2016

Medical emergency on board

SAT

SAT

HF / VHF

Medical Ground

Staff

AIR FRANCE OCC SAMU de PARIS

Medical emergency on board

Peterson DC, Martin-Gill C, Guyette FX, et al.

Outcomes of medical emergencies on commercial airline flights. N Engl J Med 2013; Volume 368(22):2075-2083 May 30, 2013

• 2,75 billion passengers annually

• This study describes 11,920 in-flight medical emergencies on the basis of consultations from five major airlines to a physician-directed communications center.

• 1 medical emergency per 604 flights

• In nearly half the emergencies, physicians on board provided assistance, and in 7.3%, the aircraft was diverted.

• One fourth of passengers who had an in-flight medical emergency underwent additional evaluation in a hospital

Outcomes of Medical Emergencies on Commercial Airline Flights

Jôrg Siedenburg, New European Regulations for on-board emergency equipment,

86th Annual Scientific and Human Performance Meeting, Orlando, May 2015

Outcomes of Medical Emergencies on Commercial Airline Flights

Medical emergencies 1/100 000 – 7/10 000

Diversion necessary 1/1 000 000

Fatalities 0,5/1 000 000

Cardiovascular fatalities 0,2 – 0,7/1 000 000

Nigel Dowdal. Is there a doctor on the aircraft? Top 10 in-flight medical

emergencies.Brit Med J 2000;321(7272):1336–1337.

In 1999, British Airways estimated that 70% of the recorded

3,386 in-flight medical emergencies that year were

managed by crew members without the need of assistance

from an onboard medical professional.

Is there a doctor on the aircraft ?

Ultra long flights

Medical kits on board

First aid kit

First aid kit

First aid kit

First aid kit

First aid kit

First aid kit

First aid kit

Emergency Medical kit

Emergency Medical kit

Emergency Medical kit

Emergency Medical kit

Emergency Medical kit

Emergency Medical kit

Universal Precaution kit

First Aid Oxygen

Oxygen on board

Automatic External Defibrillator

Crew First Aid Training

Telemedicine

Telemedicine

Repatriation

Any questions ?