Does the thought of responding to an in-flight emergency ruin your air travel? Then tune in because on this episode, Angelica Zen, MD, Chief Resident of Internal Medicine at UCLA, recounts a harrowing tale of heroism at 30,000 feet and schools us on how to throw down in an in-flight emergency. We review what’s available in the standard medical kit, common conditions encountered, and the medical legal implications of responding to in-flight emergencies. This episode is a must listen before you next step on a plane.
Goal: Listeners will understand their role and potential liabilities during in-flight emergencies and effectively utilize available resources for triage, patient care, and decisions about diverting the plane.
Learning objectives:
By the end of this podcast listeners will:
Disclosures:
Dr. Zen reports no relevant financial disclosures.
Time Stamps
00:26 Intro
02:06 Start of Interview
03:02 Rapid Fire Questions
07:08 Dr. Zen tells her story
17:27 Monitoring your patient in-flight
18:05 Contents of the standard in-flight medical kit
20:10 What Dr. Zen would have done differently
21:05 How to use available resources in-flight
22:20 Medical legal implications
26:07 How to respond to common in-flight emergencies and how to respond
27:35 Syncope and presyncope
29:52 Hypoxia altitude simulation test (HAST)
31:15 Altered mental status
31:52 Anaphylaxis
33:19 Stroke and acute coronary syndrome
34:51 Dr. Zen’s take home points
36:40 Outro
Links from the show:
The Curbsiders are partnering with VCU Health Continuing Education to offer FREE continuing education credits for physicians and other healthcare professionals. Visit curbsiders.vcuhealth.org and search for this episode to claim credit.
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