By Vivian Souza
Have you ever thought about what might happen if you pass out while traveling by plane, being thousands of feet off the ground?
Although there may not be time to rush to a hospital, airlines have a procedure on how to treat patients in an emergency.
This Friday (21), Brazilian lawyer Sara Silva Raimundo, 32, died after a cardiac arrest on a flight to the United States.
She became ill during the flight. The aircraft even made an emergency landing, and she was taken to a hospital near the airport but did not resist.
WHAT SHOULD THE COMPANY DO?
When someone becomes ill during a commercial flight, the first reaction of the flight attendants will be to ask if there is a doctor among the passengers.
Health professionals must introduce themselves because of their code of ethics.
If they don’t do this, they can be punished if someone knows they are a doctor and decides not to provide help, explains the president of the Aeroepacial Medical Committee of the São Paulo Medical Association, Rozania Sobreira.
From there, the patient is taken to the galley, where the flight attendants serve snacks, which can hold the necessary procedures.
Every flight has a box that only doctors can open. It contains medicines and equipment that allow more invasive treatments, such as intubation.
There is also a second box, which other health professionals, such as nurses, and flight attendants, can open.
It contains other types of items, such as dressings and pressure gauges, for example.
But not every flight will have a passenger who works in the health area, so the stewards’ role goes far beyond serving snacks, says Rozania.
They are all trained to apply first aid, such as performing heart massages.
In addition to these measures, on longer flights, some airlines offer remote assistance from doctors specialized in aerospace medical training to assist when someone becomes ill on board.
The team will guide the crew on how the passenger should be treated.
SHOULD THE PLANE LAND?
The captain is the highest flight authority, and it is up to them to make this decision.
Rozania says that the attending physician can advise if the case requires landing, but they cannot determine.
She explains that the reason for this is because landing outside of the planning can bring risks to all passengers and stress to the crew, aggravating the possibility of accidents if the fuel tank is still full – making the plane heavier and more likely to hit the ground hard and be damaged – and the nearest airport does not have the appropriate structure.
In some cases, the commander can lower the flight’s altitude, going from 8,000 feet to 6,000; this causes the air pressure to decrease, improving the quality of oxygen in the environment.
This is because, at this point, the cabin changes characteristics regarding pressurization.
“With this procedure, most people have an improvement,” says the doctor.
There is a way to reduce the chances of feeling sick on the plane.
The aircraft environment is different from what we are used to because of the height, which is about 8,000 feet, equivalent to Mount Nevado in Chile, explains Rozania.
Although the airplane is a very safe means of transportation, the president says some health conditions can be aggravated when at altitude.
Some examples are severe anemia, post-surgery, pneumonia, ear infection, and unmedicated cases of blood pressure and diabetes.
For this reason, it is up to the passengers to fill out the Information Form for Passengers with Special Needs (Medif) when they have an illness.
Then, an expert in aerospace medical training from the company will evaluate the document and decide if the passenger is fit to make the trip.
The form can be submitted up to 72 hours before the flight, and the airline must reply up to 48 hours in advance.
If the answer is negative for the trip, the customer must reschedule the flight.
Extra charges may apply depending on each airline’s policy.
In addition, if the passenger has any contagious disease that is easily identified, for example, conjunctivitis and measles, the flight attendants may prevent the passenger from boarding.
WHAT HAPPENS IN CASE OF DEATH?
If the passenger dies during the flight, the captain can decide whether to make an emergency landing or continue to the destination planned for the trip, says the president.
When the landing happens, the Brazilian Airport Infrastructure Company (Infraero) team should already be waiting for the aircraft at the airport to receive the body.
In addition, the plane will be held for forensics.
With information from g1
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