Neurology at the airport

Objectives Neurological problems are reported to be common in air travellers. The authors aimed to study neurological problems which might be associated with air traffic in a systematic way. Methods The authors analysed a prospective registry of all the patients referred from Madrid-Barajas International Airport to the emergency department of their tertiary university hospital (Hospital Universitario Ramon y Cajal), for whom a neurological consultation was required, during a period of 21 months. Results 77 patients with a history of air travel presented with neurological problems and were included in the analysis. Fifty-nine (76.6%) were male, and the mean age was 45.9 (range 8–89, SD 17.5). Onset of symptoms was after landing in 44 subjects (58.7%), during the flight in 31 (41.3%), and unknown in two (5.1%). Thirty-nine (50.9%) had seizures, 18 (23.4%) had a stroke, and 20 (26%) other diagnosis. Sixty-one per cent of the patients with seizures had no previous history of epilepsy. Seizures on presentation were significantly associated with the use of drugs (p=0.0008), and most of the cases with known epilepsy admitted non-adherence to treatment. Three ‘body packers’ were admitted with seizures secondary to intra-abdominal cocaine pack rupture. Of eight ischaemic strokes, five had high-grade carotid stenosis, and one case had economy-class stroke syndrome. Six patients with stroke were eligible and treated with intravenous thrombolysis. Conclusion In our series of neurological problems among air travellers, drug-induced seizures and ischaemic strokes due to large-artery atherosclerosis were the commonest observed diagnoses.