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At least 361 records · Page 20Linked to original sources
PubMed2006

Long-term measurements of H*(10) at aviation altitudes in the northern hemisphere.

Monitoring the radiation field at aviation altitudes is achieved by the dosemeter system piDOS installed in a passenger aircraft. The basic detector is a 2 in. tissue-equivalent proportional counter (TEPC) mounted in a cabin-baggage-sized aluminium suitcase. The entire system was characterised in neutron and photon reference fields from which two calibration factors were determined according to the splitting of the measured dose deposition spectrum yd(y) into low-LET and high-LET regions. A total of 255 flights in the northern hemisphere was analysed. The dependencies of the ambient dose equivalent rates on altitude, latitude and solar activity have been determined. These new data extend the data base used in Germany for the validation of program codes to calculate the radiation exposure of air crew members.

Altitude↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Predictors of fatigue in rescue workers and residents in the aftermath of an aviation disaster: a longitudinal study.

OBJECTIVES: Although medically unexplained physical symptoms such as fatigue are frequently observed after exposure to trauma, the vast majority of health outcomes studies in trauma and disaster research relates to the psychological and psychiatric problems met by victims. The objectives of this study were to investigate the prevalence of (persistent) fatigue in the aftermath of a disaster and to analyze the predictive value of sociodemographic and various health-related variables for fatigue among both rescue workers and residents. METHODS: A total of 1951 rescue workers and 753 residents involved in the Bijlmermeer aviation disaster participated in this study. Follow-up data were gathered in 70% of randomly selected rescue workers and 53% of the residents. Multiple regression analyses, multivariate logistic regression analyses, and crosslagged panel analyses examined sociodemographic variables and self-report measures for psychopathology, posttraumatic stress reactions, quality of life, somatosensory amplification, health anxiety, and tendency to be reassured by a physician as predictors of fatigue at baseline and fatigue from baseline to 13 to 28 months follow up. RESULTS: Elevated levels of fatigue are common after involvement in a disaster in rescue workers (20.6%) and residents (45.4%). Higher levels of psychopathology, lower quality of life, and the tendency to be less reassured were multivariate predictors of both elevated and persistent fatigue. Tendency to be reassured was the most important causal factor for fatigue. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that early identification, adequate reassurance, and treatment of individuals at risk may be worthwhile to prevent chronic fatigue.

Accidents, Aviation↗
PubMed1994

Aviation pioneers: World War II air evacuation nurses.

During World War II, nurses pioneered a new role for women in the skies. This study of the 1942-1944 Movietonews, the largest of the U.S. newsreel companies with international syndication, identified the exploits of these nurses, compared personal accounts and highlighted flight nurses' contributions to the profession, society, and aviation.

Aviation↗
PubMed2004

Translating teamwork behaviours from aviation to healthcare: development of behavioural markers for neonatal resuscitation.

Improving teamwork in healthcare may help reduce and manage errors. This paper takes a step toward that goal by (1) proposing a set of teamwork behaviours, or behavioural markers, for neonatal resuscitation; (2) presenting a data form for recording observations about these markers; and (3) comparing and contrasting different sets of teamwork behaviours that have been developed for healthcare. Data from focus groups of neonatal providers, surveys, and video recordings of neonatal resuscitations were used to identify some new teamwork behaviours, to translate existing aviation team behaviours to this setting, and to develop a data collection form. This behavioural marker audit form for neonatal resuscitation lists and defines 10 markers that describe specific, observable behaviours seen during the resuscitation of newborn infants. These markers are compared with those developed by other groups. Future research should determine the relations among these behaviours and errors, and test their usefulness in measuring the impact of team training interventions.

Aviation↗
PubMed2004

The complexity of team training: what we have learned from aviation and its applications to medicine.

Errors in health care that compromise patient safety are tied to latent failures in the structure and function of systems. Teams of people perform most care delivered today, yet training often remains focused on individual responsibilities. Training programmes for all healthcare workers need to increase the educational experience of working in interdisciplinary teams. The complexities of team training require a multifunctional (systems) approach, which crosses organisational divisions to allow communication, accountability, and creation and maintenance of interdisciplinary teams. This report identifies challenges for medical education in performing the research, identifying performance measurements, and modifying educational curricula for the advancement of interdisciplinary teams, based on the complexity of team training identified in commercial aviation.

Aviation↗
PubMed2006

Understanding diagnostic errors in medicine: a lesson from aviation.

The impact of diagnostic errors on patient safety in medicine is increasingly being recognized. Despite the current progress in patient safety research, the understanding of such errors and how to prevent them is inadequate. Preliminary research suggests that diagnostic errors have both cognitive and systems origins. Situational awareness is a model that is primarily used in aviation human factors research that can encompass both the cognitive and the systems roots of such errors. This conceptual model offers a unique perspective in the study of diagnostic errors. The applicability of this model is illustrated by the analysis of a patient whose diagnosis of spinal cord compression was substantially delayed. We suggest how the application of this framework could lead to potential areas of intervention and outline some areas of future research. It is possible that the use of such a model in medicine could help reduce errors in diagnosis and lead to significant improvements in patient care. Further research is needed, including the measurement of situational awareness and correlation with health outcomes.

Aged↗
PubMed2005

Combined effects of noise and mixed solvents exposure on the hearing function among workers in the aviation industry.

This study aims to evaluate the effect of occupational exposure to noise and organic solvents on hearing loss in the aviation industry. The study population comprised 542 male workers, who worked in avionics jobs in Kimhae, Korea, who kept records of work environment evaluations and medical examinations. The Cumulative Exposure Index (CEI) was constructed to assess the lifetime cumulative exposure of the workers, and pure tone audiometry (PTA) data of the workers from their biannual medical surveillance was used to assess hearing loss. The prevalence of hearing loss found in the group exposed to noise and mixed solvents simultaneously (54.9%) was higher than those in the other groups (6.0% in the unexposed, 17.1% in the noise-only, and 27.8 % in the exposed to only a solvents mixture). The relative risks, adjusted for age, were estimated to be 4.3 (95 % CI 1.7-10.8) for the noise-only group, 8.1 (95% CI 2.0-32.5) for the noise and solvents group, and 2.6 (95 % CI 0.6-10.3) for the solvents-mixture group. These suggest that chronic exposure to mixed solvents had a toxic effect on the auditory system. This raises the issue of whether hearing conservation regulations should be applied to all workers exposed to solvents.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Refining and blending of aviation turbine fuels.

Aviation turbine fuels (jet fuels) are similar to other petroleum products that have a boiling range of approximately 300F to 550F. Kerosene and No.1 grades of fuel oil, diesel fuel, and gas turbine oil share many similar physical and chemical properties with jet fuel. The similarity among these products should allow toxicology data on one material to be extrapolated to the others. Refineries in the USA manufacture jet fuel to meet industry standard specifications. Civilian aircraft primarily use Jet A or Jet A-1 fuel as defined by ASTM D 1655. Military aircraft use JP-5 or JP-8 fuel as defined by MIL-T-5624R or MIL-T-83133D respectively. The freezing point and flash point are the principle differences between the finished fuels. Common refinery processes that produce jet fuel include distillation, caustic treatment, hydrotreating, and hydrocracking. Each of these refining processes may be the final step to produce jet fuel. Sometimes blending of two or more of these refinery process streams are needed to produce jet fuel that meets the desired specifications. Chemical additives allowed for use in jet fuel are also defined in the product specifications. In many cases, the customer rather than the refinery will put additives into the fuel to meet their specific storage or flight condition requirements.

Aviation↗
PubMed2004

Cystic hygroma in a tactical aviator: a case report.

Cystic hygroma of the neck is a benign, congenital tumor of lymphatic origin rarely seen in adults, with approximately 100 cases presented in the literature. The etiology of this lesion is poorly understood, with spontaneous occurrence, upper respiratory infection, or trivial trauma being suggested. We present a recent unique case report of an adult male tactical aviator who experienced a progressively enlarging cystic hygroma of the neck over a 2-week period without history of infection or obvious trauma. This case is unusual in that there may have been an element of continuous microtrauma to the area given the individual's occupation and required flight head gear. A successful surgical dissection and removal of the cystic hygroma was performed. A discussion and brief literature review of cystic hygroma in adulthood is presented.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Confidential reporting: from aviation to clinical medicine.

The spectacular nature of accidents involving aircraft has obliged the aviation industry to introduce a process of confidential reporting to identify situations that may lead to poor work or even an accident. The information so gathered can then be used to reduce the likelihood of such problems occurring. Confidential reporting allows an individual to bring information relevant to safety to the attention of a body that is completely independent of management. They can be assured that their identity will remain confidential to that body. It is, as far as the individual is concerned, a confidential but not an anonymous procedure, which will be subjected to careful scrutiny. Confidentiality and independence from management are the essential features. The introduction of such a programme into the NHS would materially enhance its safety profile.

Accidents, Aviation↗
PubMed2000

Laser pointers and aviation safety.

Laser pointers have been used by teachers and lecturers for years to highlight key areas on charts and screens during visual presentations. When used in a responsible manner, laser pointers are not considered to be hazardous. However, as the availability of such devices has increased, so have reports of their misuse. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning in December 1997 on the possibility of eye injury to children from handheld laser pointers. In October 1998, the American Academy of Ophthalmology upgraded an earlier caution to a warning, stating that laser pointers can be hazardous and should be kept away from children, after two reports of eye injuries involving young girls (age 11 and 13 yr). Of particular concern was the promotion of laser products as children's toys, such as those that can project cartoon figures and line drawings. Additionally, there have been reports involving the misuse of laser pointers (e.g., arrests made after police interpreted the red beam to be a laser-sighted weapon, spectators aiming laser lights at athletes during sporting events, cars illuminated on highways, and numerous incidents involving the illumination of aircraft). This technical note discusses physiological effects of exposure from a laser pointer, the regulation and classification of commercial laser products, and how the misuse of these pointers is a possible threat to aviation safety.

Aerospace Medicine↗
PubMed1999

Vasovagal syncope: prevalence and presentation. An algorithm of management in the aviation environment.

Vasovagal syncope can occur in any individual, given sufficient provocation, and probably half the population suffers at least one episode during life. Often it occurs in youth and may occur in clusters. Usually there is a history of a previous episode. Prodromal symptoms include nausea sweatiness and a sensation of warmth. Diagnosis is by careful history and tilt testing. The false positive rate for passive tilt is 13% and the true positive rate is about 70% including use of nitroglycerine. A classical history and a positive tilt test obviate the need for further investigation in clinical practice, but in the context of aviation, it is wise to seek the small possibility of intermittent rhythm and/or conduction disturbance as an alternative explanation for the episode. It is, therefore, reasonable to carry out a Holter recording and exercise electrocardiogram, perhaps also echocardiography. No treatment is of much benefit, although many agents, including beta blocking drugs, have been used. Some patients have undergone permanent dual chamber pacing with some favourable results. Explanation and reassurance is important. From the licensing point of view, following investigation after an attack, consideration may be given to restricted certification with regular follow-up. Review with investigation after an event free interval, arbitrarily after 2 years, may permit full certification. Malignant vasovagal syncope with no warning of impending attack should disbar.

Aerospace Medicine↗
PubMed1975

Toxicological findings in fatal civil aviation accidents, fiscal years 1968-1974.

Toxicological findings in 1,345 fatal general aviation accidents from fiscal year 1968 through 1974 are summarized. Methods used in examination of specimens for alcohol, drugs, carbon monoxide, cyanide, and cholinesterase activity are described. Blood ethanol levels in excess of 0.050% were found in 117 of the 1,345 pilots (8.7%). Drugs were found in 16 cases (1.2%). These and other toxicological findings indicate that in more than 40% of the cases, information worthy of consideration in developing the human-factors history of an accident or the cause of death from survivable crashes was obtained.

Accidents, Aviation↗
PubMed1975

Cervicocranium and the aviator's protective helmet.

An analogy based on the likenesses of the APH-6 aviator's protective helmet and the hangman's noose has some interesting relationships to aircraft accident investigation and to the associated traumatic pathology. A superficial examination of the similarities might propose that the inferior edge of the helmet, when considered part of the continuous circle completed by the nape strap and the chin strap, forms a loop which can be likened to a hangman's noose. The analogy might be extended to the comparison of lesions made about the neck by the straps or the edge of the helmet compared with abrasions and contusions that might be associated with a rope encircling the same structures. Such a hangman's noose, when the knot is at the side of the head (subaural), produces fractures of the base of the skull tending to extend bitemporally through the basisphenoid. When the knot is anterior and beneath the chin (submental), the hangman's noose causes a fracture dislocation at the axis. Characteristically, the posterior arch is fractured and, interestingly enough, the odontoid process is not involved. Many of us anticipate that a fractured, displaced odontoid process is the prototype lesion which so precariously endangers the patient with cervical cord compromise and death similar to the hangman's fracture. More recent assessments of the mortality of the odontoid fracture suggest less than 10%.

Accidents, Aviation↗
PubMed1975

Coronary artery disease and preventive cardiology in aviation medicine.

A review of 6,500 autopsied cases on record at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology of deaths occurring in aircraft accidents or mishaps revealed that 816 cases (13%) had been diagnosed as heart disease other than traumatic (i.e., pre-existing at the time of the accident). Of these 816 cases (592 military and 135 civilian), 89.1% had atherosclerotic coronary artery disease (CAD). This autopsy series compared the severity of CAD, year of death, and crew position within the military 5-year age groups. CAD was found in 86.6% of the 20- to 34-year-old military group. Moderate and severe CAD was present in 17.1%. CAD in previous autopsy studies of U.S. military casualties in the Korean and Vietnam conflicts was reported as 77.3% and 45%, respectively. Study of severe and moderate CAD by year of death in the 20- to 34-year age group demonstrates 26.2% in 1965-1969 and 21.1% in 1970-74. These findings do not support the conclusion of the Vietnam autopsy study that CAD is decreasing. Preventive and predictive cardiology in aviation medicine should be instituted early and aggressively in the young aircrew population.

Accidents, Aviation↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Alertness management in 24/7 settings: lessons from aviation.

Round-the-clock operational requirements pose physiological challenges for human operators. Fatigue due to sleep loss and circadian disruption can reduce safety, performance quality, and alertness. The authors describe the physiological factors underlying fatigue and provide examples from NASA research in aviation settings that demonstrate how fatigue affects real-world operations. A comprehensive alertness management approach to address fatigue effectively includes education, alertness strategies, scheduling, policy, and healthy sleep components. There is a need for cultural change that will encourage attitudes, behaviors, and practices that will reduce fatigue-related risks and improve safety, performance, and alertness in 24/7 operational settings.

Accidents, Aviation↗