BMJ  2008;336:684 (29 March), doi:10.1136/bmj.39525.512176.3A

Letters

Cabin fever

"Most experts agree"

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Despite the emergence of evidence based medicine, so called expert consensus continues to be used to perpetuate myths, in this case that the frequency of inflight medical emergencies is rising.¹

Data from airline cabin crew reports show wide variation because of differing reporting processes and thresholds. Passenger demographics may be changing, such that the average age of passengers is increasing, but I know of no robust evidence that this is associated with more inflight medical problems—the current generation may well be fitter and more able to travel than previous generations.

If inflight medical incidents were becoming more common, we would expect to see increasing trends for medical diversions and for deaths. We have examined the data for our airline—British Airways—a global international carrier.

Although medical diversions are increasing as a percentage of the total, this reflects a reduction in other causes, and the frequency of medical diversions has not increased. . . . [Full text of this article]

¹ Harmondsworth UB7 0GB

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