Seven years' experience in medical care at Mexico City International Airport

This paper describes our experience in the medical care of patients at Mexico City International Airport during the period 1981-87. Our medical staff treated 39,320 of the 84,359,212 passengers who used the airport during this 7-year period, an average of 5,617 patients per year. The most frequently observed medical disorders included: traumatic (8,852 cases; 22.5%), gastrointestinal (8,622; 22%), respiratory (5,503; 14%), cardiovascular (4,410; 11%), neurologic (3,876; 10%), toxicologic (1,273; 3%), gynecologic (833; 2%), urologic (773; 2%), endocrinologic (592; 1.5%) and others (4,586; 12%). There were 62 deaths, 244 false alarms, and 67 patients transported by air ambulance and 1,955 by ground ambulance. The main causes of death included extensive traumatic injuries and burns, acute myocardial infarctions, cerebrovascular accidents, and severe cases of intoxication. The annual trends with respect to morbidity, patient population and passenger population are discussed.