• Title/Summary/Keyword: Aviation medicine

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Editorial for Vol. 31, No. 3 (편집자 주: 31권 3호)

  • Kim, Young Hyo
    • Korean journal of aerospace and environmental medicine
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    • v.31 no.3
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    • pp.61-63
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    • 2021
  • In Vol. 31, No. 3, our journal prepared three review articles, an original paper, and two case reports. First, as COVID-19 continues for a long time, aviation workers, including pilots, are also experiencing mental problems such as depression. Therefore, we have compiled the basic principles for improving the mental health of pilots. Next, it is difficult to properly perform cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) when a cardiac arrest situation occurs in an aircraft. Moreover, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, CPR is more difficult because medical staff and other passengers may also be exposed to infections. Therefore, we have summarized the principles of CPR on board and ways to perform CPR while keeping the safety of medical staff and other passengers in the COVID-19 situation. The sudden change of gravity caused by space travel has various effects on the human body, and among them, the effect on the immune system is profound. Therefore, we reviewed the research methods to study the effect of gravity on the immune system and the results. In addition, we analyzed the demographic characteristics and health status of immigrant visa applicants who intended to immigrate to the United States over the past five years. Next, through two case reports, we reported cases of determining physical fitness for aviation service in patients who recovered after receiving appropriate treatment for chronic myeloid leukemia or renal cell carcinoma.

Analysis of Health Problems among Airline Pilots in Korea (2016~2018) (민간 항공기 운항승무원의 건강문제 분석(2016~2018))

  • Kim, Ji Seon;Choi, Yun Young
    • Korean journal of aerospace and environmental medicine
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    • v.30 no.1
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    • pp.34-39
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    • 2020
  • The medical fitness of pilots is part of the civil aviation safety scenery. This study aimed to analyze the health problems occurring among Korean commercial pilots. Three data sources were used to identify the health problems: 7,574 aviation medical examination data, 5,400 sick leaves and 39 cases of a decrease in medical fitness during flight duty period and layover of Korean commercial pilots who have been working for K airline from Jan. 1, 2016 to Dec. 31, 2018. This study was retrospectively analyzed using SPSS 22 statistical program. Waiver of medical certificates was an average 11.9% of total issuance for 3 years, with a denial of 0.1%. The leading cause of denial of medical certificates was predominantly of cardiovascular cause (55.6%). Mild respiratory and digestive disease accounted for 82% of total sick prevalence and 68% of total sick days. The psychiatric and cardiovascular disease were ranked high according to the number of days lost per case. The most common cause of decrease in medical fitness during flight duty period was acute abdominal pain (36.4%) and musculoskeletal disorder (40%) when staying abroad. Aeromedical emphasis on minimizing cardiovascular risk remains appropriate. Major pilot health problems identified in this study should be considered in establishing pilot health promotion programs for aviation safety.

Regulatory Aspects of Passenger and Crew Safety: Crash Survivability and the Emergency Brace Position

  • Davies, Jan M.
    • The Korean Journal of Air & Space Law and Policy
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    • v.33 no.2
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    • pp.199-224
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    • 2018
  • Aviation's safety record continues to improve yearly, especially with respect to passenger and crew injuries and deaths. However, although the number of accidents has decreased over the decades, there are still many events, such as landings short of the runway and runway excursions, both of which pose threats to passenger and crew safety. Surviving any kind of aviation accident depends on the physiological threat and stress of the impact(s), the extent to which the physical structure surrounding the passengers and crew remains intact, and the ability of the passengers and crew to be able to escape the wreckage. The one action that both passengers and crew can carry out to help decrease the likelihood of crash-related injury or death is to assume an emergency brace position. Doing so has been demonstrated over several decades to improve survivability. While cabin crew are taught (and then might have to teach passengers in an emergency about the emergency brace position), passengers in many parts of the world never learn about the brace position unless they are involved in an emergency in which there is time to prepare for the landing. This lack of provision of information is related to the fact that most airlines do not provide information in the preflight safety briefing and some do not even provide the information in the passenger safety cards. Many countries do not require their airlines to do so, a fact, which in turn, is related to the lack of mention of the brace position in ICAO's Annex 6. Until standards and recommended practices are changed at the highest world level, passengers will continue to be deprived of this vital, life-saving information that they can use, potentially to help save their own lives.

Proposed Data-Driven Approach for Occupational Risk Management of Aircrew Fatigue

  • Seah, Benjamin Zhi Qiang;Gan, Wee Hoe;Wong, Sheau Hwa;Lim, Mei Ann;Goh, Poh Hui;Singh, Jarnail;Koh, David Soo Quee
    • Safety and Health at Work
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    • v.12 no.4
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    • pp.462-470
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    • 2021
  • Background: Fatigue is pervasive, under-reported, and potentially deadly where flight operations are concerned. The aviation industry appears to lack a standardized, practical, and easily replicable protocol for fatigue risk assessment which can be consistently applied across operators. Aim: Our paper sought to present a framework, supported by real-world data with subjective and objective parameters, to monitor aircrew fatigue and performance, and to determine the safe crew configuration for commercial airline operations. Methods: Our protocol identified risk factors for fatigue-induced performance degradation as triggers for fatigue risk and performance assessment. Using both subjective and objective measurements of sleep, fatigue, and performance in the form of instruments such as the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale, Samn-Perelli Crew Status Check, Psychomotor Vigilance Task, sleep logs, and a wearable actigraph for sleep log correlation and sleep duration and quality charting, a workflow flagging fatigue-prone flight operations for risk mitigation was developed and trialed. Results: In an operational study aimed at occupational assessment of fatigue and performance in airline pilots on a three-men crew versus a four-men crew for a long-haul flight, we affirmed the technical feasibility of our proposed framework and approach, the validity of the battery of assessment instruments, and the meaningful interpretation of fatigue and work performance indicators to enable the formulation of safe work recommendations. Conclusion: A standardized occupational assessment protocol like ours is useful to achieve consistency and objectivity in the occupational assessment of fatigue and work performance.

Editorial for Vol. 30, Issue 2 (편집자 주 - 30권 2호)

  • Kim, Young Hyo
    • Korean journal of aerospace and environmental medicine
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    • v.30 no.2
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    • pp.51-53
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    • 2020
  • In commemoration of Vol. 30, Issue 2, our journal prepared three review articles, two original papers, and a case report. The first review analyzed aircraft accidents caused by pilots' fatigue and presented a protocol to measure their fatigue, such as primary background survey, subjective drowsiness/arousal evaluation, sleep and activity log, sleep data, and performance measurement. The second review analyzed shift work patterns and work characteristics that may affect the fatigue of aviation mechanics. Also, desirable work principles for aviation mechanics (restrictions on working hours, appropriate rest hours, and night shift restrictions) were presented. The third review discussed the effects that allergic rhinitis can have on pilots (drowsiness and decreased arousal) and introduced a safe treatment method that can prevent these adverse effects. In the first original article, the ratio of 'incompatible (non-fit)' result in aerospace medical examination among Korean aircraft pilots for the past five years was investigated by age group and the common causes of nonconformity were analyzed. In the second original article, the prevalence, mortality, prevalence according to age groups, and regional characteristics of severe febrile thrombocytopenia syndrome were compared and analyzed in Korea and Japan for the past five years. Finally, in the case report, the cases of a patient diagnosed as gastrointestinal stromal tumors who received surgical treatment and chemotherapy were discussed, and the results of the judgment were presented.

Barotits Media in Aircrews (항공승무원의 기압성 중이염)

  • Kwon, Young Hwan
    • Korean journal of aerospace and environmental medicine
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    • v.29 no.3
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    • pp.93-95
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    • 2019
  • Middle-ear barotrauma is a common problem reported by aircrew members and passengers. Studies have shown that 20~50% of passengers report ear complaints during the flight or after landing. Barotitis media is defined as an acute or chronic inflammation caused by a pressure differential between the tympanic cavity and the surrounding atmosphere. The Problems caused by otitis media or sinusitis of aircrew during landing and take-off can be a threat to aviation safety. Therefore, the aviation medical examiner should know about barotitis media of aircrews. In this paper, we aimed to learn what is barotitis media and how much it could affect aircrews. Also, we aimed to evaluate how barotitis media could make an impact on crews during flight, and how to manage these problems.

Renal Cell Carcinoma: Case Report and Aeromedical Consideration (신장암: 증례보고 및 항공의학적 고찰)

  • Song, Joon Ho
    • Korean journal of aerospace and environmental medicine
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    • v.31 no.3
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    • pp.84-85
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    • 2021
  • Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is common primary tumor of kidney. In the past, it had been considered a difficult tumor to manage since the detection was usually delayed until paraneoplastic syndrome and/or distant metastasis appeared due to its slow progression. However, the recent popularization of ultrasound and computed tomography has made RCC one of the easily curable cancers. Eighty percent are found early, mostly with tumor size less than 5 cm. Five-year survival rate after successful nephrectomy is exceeded 80-90 percent. Curative nephrectomy can be tried in stage 1 and 2, and some cases of stage 3. In these cases, return to flight can be considered after 6 to 12 months' observation. It should be monitored any occurrence of cancer recurrence, need for systemic treatment, metastasis, and paraneoplastic syndrome, etc. If any signs of recurrence are found or new treatment needs to be initiated, the flight should be suspended. If there is no recurrence for more than 5 to 10 years, the patient doesn't have to be followed anymore.

Peripheral Vertigo and Tinnitus: Case Report, Aeromedical Assessment of Therapy (말초성 어지럼 및 이명: 증례보고 및 항공의학적 고찰)

  • Kim, Young Hyo
    • Korean journal of aerospace and environmental medicine
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    • v.31 no.2
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    • pp.51-53
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    • 2021
  • Aviation medical examiners should always keep two principles in mind when evaluating patients with vertigo: Does this disease render him or her incapacitated? And does this disease recur? Meniere's disease accompanies vertigo and hearing symptoms such as hearing loss and tinnitus and is particularly important because it can render the patient incapacitated and has recurrent consequences. In this case, we intended to investigate the course of a patient who was evaluated with symptoms of dizziness and tinnitus and to review the patient's judgment result according to the principles of aeromedical evaluation.