How to Handle In-Flight Death in International Patient Repatriation and Air Ambulance Operations.

In-flight cardiac arrest is a rare event that occurs at a rate of approximately 1 event in 3.8 to 4.7 million commercial airline passengers and at a rate of approximately 1 event in 1,500 to 3,000 patients transported by fixed wing international air medical transport.

Stratification of patients in long-distance, international, fixed-wing aircraft.

Introduction: A growing number of individuals with significant medical histories travel for business and holidays. Precise anticipation and stratification of transport-relevant illness severity in the planning stage of an air medical evacuation is crucial for mission success and patient safety.

Methods: We developed a staging system (ie, Stratification of Air Medical Transport by Expression of Symptoms in Patients [STEP]) and applied it to 356 patients transported by a fixed wing aircraft between January 2010 and June 2011.

L-Methadone and D,L-methadone in methadone maintenance treatment: a comparison of therapeutic effectiveness and plasma concentrations.

The clinical effectiveness of l-methadone maintenance treatment (LMMT) carried out using d,l-methadone or l-methadone have been compared with ambulatory heroin-dependent subjects. A total of 40 heroin-dependent subjects, previously maintained on l-methadone in Frankfurt am Main, were divided into two groups under randomised double-blind conditions and received either an equivalent dose of l-methadone as d,l-methadone or remained on the previous l-methadone treatment. Requests for a change in the dose of d,l-methadone and l-methadone were recorded, urine samples for determination of illicit drug use were collected and the individual level of opiate craving was determined over a 22-day observation period.