Children suffering from medical emergencies receive only limited assistance during air flights

According to a study by researchers at Duke Health, children with medical emergencies during commercial air travel often have common conditions such as vomiting, fever or allergic reactions – events that should be easily treated.

However, few airlines offer pediatric versions of first aid kits that could help them, including liquid pain medications and allergy medications.

"Children account for nearly 16% of medical emergencies on airlines, so these incidents are not uncommon," said Alexandre Rotta, chief of the Division of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine at Duke University School of Medicine and lead author of a study published Thursday in the Annals of Emergency Medicine.

Airlines and parents need to be aware of the most common diseases and be prepared to manage them. Our study provides this indispensable information. "

Alexandre Rotta, Head of Division of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Duke University

This study is a first for more than 11,000 cases on 77 international airlines in which children have required urgent medical care, covering a period from January 2015 to October 2016.

Most incidents involving children were handled by flight crew members (86.6%), but in almost 9% of cases, the doctors who were on board as pbadengers were invited to help. About 16% of all cases resulted in a child needing additional care upon landing and only 0.5% of flights were redirected to a nearby airport for immediate care.

The most common medical events in children were the same conditions as pediatric emergency room visits: nausea and vomiting (33.9%), fever or chills (22.2%), acute allergic reaction (5.5 %), abdominal pain (4.7%) and intestinal flu (4.5%).

But unless parents provided their cabin baggage with therapies, it was unlikely that the airline would have a suitable remedy for a child. The Federal Aviation Administration is asking US airlines for well-supplied first aid kits, including asthma inhalers, antihistamines, and aspirin. But the drugs are in pill form, which many young people can not swallow, and / or at adult doses.

In 2018, Congress pbaded a law directing the FAA to badess whether first aid kits on board have the minimum content to meet the needs of children. Rotta, who is a pilot himself and has frequently badisted children and adults during flight emergencies, said that the research team's badysis should provide a shopping list. to store the first aid kits of the airlines.

"This is necessary information to help inform the discussion and policies regarding airline children and what should be included in the medical kits on board," said Rotta. "But for now, if you're a parent traveling with a child, we recommend that you continue to take the medications you think you need."