Quality of Electrocardiograms Obtained in Flight by Airline Flight Attendants

BACKGROUND: Handling cases of chest pain aboard commercial flights is challenging for crewmembers, onboard medical volunteers, and ground-based doctors providing remote advice. Obtaining an electrocardiogram (ECG) in-flight could help in dictating the management of such cases. The ability to diagnose or rule out ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) would have clinical and prognostic implications. The feasibility of obtaining good quality ECG tracings by flight attendants in flight is not known.METHODS: A series of 200 consecutive ECG tracings transmitted to a ground-based medical support provider were independently reviewed by four observers who ranked the ECG tracings according to a quality score (QS) criteria, as well as trying to identify or rule-out cases of STEMI.RESULTS: ECG quality was considered good enough to extract useful information in 170 of 200 tracings (85%). Seven cases of STEMI were identified. A STEMI was confidently ruled out in 104 cases. Additional abnormalities of variable clinical importance were also detected.DISCUSSION: ECGs are essential in the prehospital management of chest pain cases. ECGs obtained in flight by airline flight attendants were mostly of diagnostic quality, allowing confirmation or ruling out of STEMI, as well as detecting arrhythmias of clinical significance in case management.Alves PM, Lindgren JA, Streitwieser DR, Anzola E, Ahmed N, Nerwich N.