An abscess that wasn't: renal calyceal diverticulum in a student Naval aviator.

The authors report a case of a 24-yr-old female Navy student pilot who presented with pyelonephritis, and on workup, was found to have two diverticula arising from calyces in her left kidney. Her infection resolved after several weeks of antibiotic therapy. She was granted a waiver to return to flight status based on the judgment that her risk of recurrent infection, sudden incapacitation, future need of surgery, and compromise of mission effectiveness were acceptably low.

Laughter in the cockpit: gelastic seizures--a case report.

We present a case of gelastic seizures in a student naval aviator. He was noted to have uncontrollable fits of laughter on several occasions, but was not referred to his flight surgeon until he had a gelastic seizure while flying in formation, which jeopardized the safety of the flight. He had an aura consisting of lack of concentration, which was then followed by 10 s or less of hysterical laughter.

A case of a naval aviator on quinidine for lone atrial fibrillation.

While neither atrial fibrillation (AF) nor the therapeutic use of quinidine represent medical contraindications for civil aviation in the United States, they have both been indications for permanent grounding in the U.S. armed forces.

Catapult launch-associated cardioversion of atrial fibrillation.

A patient is presented with new-onset atrial fibrillation. While being air-evacuated, he cardioverted during the acceleration associated with aircraft carrier catapult launch. This case suggests a possible myocardial response to the kinetic energy produced by the acceleration force, similar to the electrical energy commonly used for cardioversion.

Explosive outbreak of gastroenteritis on an aircraft carrier: an infectious disease mass casualty situation.

An aircraft carrier experienced 777 cases of acute gastroenteritis while deployed in the eastern Mediterranean over a 16-d period. These cases were noted in the 5,000-man crew, suggesting a cumulative incidence rate of 15%, though many sailors did not seek medical care for their symptoms. The onboard medical department response included epidemiological investigation with unique shipboard facility considerations, development of a treatment plan, and implementation of preventive/educational programs.