looks ANGELES - Perhaps the best overview of the changing nature of inflight medical care was currented at last week's cabin safety symposium by way of Cynthia Massey of MedAire.

looks ANGELES - Perhaps the best overview of the changing nature of inflight medical care was currented at last week's cabin safety symposium by way of Cynthia Massey of MedAire, Inc. The Phoenix, Ariz.-based company provides onduty board certified juncture physicians to provide immediate advice from the territory to the cockpit for client carriers. As so Massey believes MedAire is in a unique position to reproach trends. What follows is an abridged version of her trenchant observations:

"There is no question that the incidence of in-flight medical emergencies is in succession the rise..."

"Why are more emergencies occurring? Increased passenger tome certainly is a factor. More passengers mean more medical emergencies. Add to the numbers of populace the cramped quarters and the recirculated air breathed by means of hundreds of people during increasingly in extent trips. "

"People carry their medical question at issues on trips.... Passengers with heart and lung disease may be adversely affected by the agency of travel at altitude, and frail somewhat old passengers and passengers with chronic illnesses almost always experience a disruption of their medication schedule with travel. "

"However, there are more factors at work. persons are living longer and (are) flying at more advanced age than at any time before.... Some carriers even are allowing passengers with portable mechanical ventilators to undulate as long as the ventilator fits in a less degree than the seat and has a backup battery. In the U the Air Carrier Access Act render certains that many passengers can soar who once may have been discouraged or prohibited from flying to be ascribed to physical disability. "

"The worldwide increase in tuberculosis-infected commonalty is another factor. Training cabin mob to suspect infectious respiratory disease and empowering (them) to issue a protective mask to the passenger and to provide a way to dispose of soiled tissues is taking a big grade toward protecting passenger and crowd health. "

"Consider also...HIV positive passengers. These passengers, with already weakened immune bodys become airsick, have nosebleeds, have cardiac arrests and ne assistance during medical emergencies. HIV, like hepatitis (is) spread between the walls of contact with infected visible form [i]or[/i] frame fluids such as blood. "

"Another factor is... public expectations... are nowhere more evident than in unexpected cardiac death. "

"Highly reliable, portable automatic external defibrillators (AED's)...are able to electrically re-start a heart unexpectedly stilled by cardiac arrest.... Several highly-publicized 'saves' have increased public demand for the units, as have numerous lawsuits against commercial airlines in the U that did not have the AED in succession board when a passenger went into cardiac arrest."

"New aircraft can transport upwards of 500 passengers. In any populace of 500 people, it would be look forward toed to have at least single in kind person dealing with a terminal illness who does not want to be resuscitated in the occurrence of cardiac arrest. These passengers can at hand a confusing dilemma to flight crews...they may travel with documents execut and considered legally valid in their place of abode states expressly forbidding resuscitative measures. The 'Do Not Resuscitate' (DNR) issue is undivided example of emerging legal, ethical and medical issues being faced by dint of commercial airlines." >> Massey, cmassey@medaire.com <<

Lawsuits Resulting from Lack of forward Board Heart Defibrillators

Case 1: A 1995 domestic flight from Boston to San Francisco. Surviving wife su airline for unfair death, alleging that airline failed to equip its aircraft with...automatic external defibrillator, and that her husband would have survived if in-flight strait medical kit had contained like equipment.

Case 2: A 1997 international flight from the U to London, England. Allan Miller supported from cardiac arrest, but the airline was unable...to provide defibrillator...the airline personnel upon said flight were not strictly trained...As a result of the foregoing, (carrier) breached an implied function to provide a safe environment for its passengers, its implied contract to transport said Allan Miller safely...

Source: Compiled from court documents

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