In-Flight Pediatric Deaths Higher Among Lap Infants

Taking an infant on board with you may not always be the most pleasant or easiest experience. Bumpy turbulence can result in an uncomfortable flight experience and make the journey even more complicated for a baby who's come along for the ride.

A recent study published in the Pediatric Critical Care Medicine Journal found that some parents should reconsider bringing little ones on vacations that involve flying to various destinations.

For the study, researchers examined rare in-flight pediatric fatalities among commercial airlines across the globe. They studied more than 7,000 medical emergencies that involved children, ranging in age from newborns to 18 years. They were studied from January 2010 to June 2013.

Findings revealed that close to 90 percent of deaths occurred in children under the age of 2.

The study looked to uncover any rare findings for an in-flight pediatric fatalities onboard commercial airline flights worldwide. Researchers considered more than 7,000 reported medical emergencies and found that death was more common in previously healthy children under the age of 2 and in children with preexisting medical conditions.

"The pattern we identified in our analysis is intriguing and could indicate lap infants are at greater risk of death related to in-flight environmental factors such as sleeping arrangements," said Alexandre Rotta, MD, FCCM, Chief, Division of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine at UH Rainbow and the studies' principal investigator, in a news release.

However, this pattern may have previously gone unnoticed if it wasn't for the case of this thorough analysis for relatively rare events.

Many of the researchers also believe that the infants could have been at an exposed risk to hypoxic cabin environment when sharing a seat with an adult or co-sleeping during a long flight.

Many of the pediatric in-flight emergencies were also linked to some sort of infection, including a neurological condition or respiratory issue, such as asthma.

"I hope our findings lead to further research on this important subject," said Dr. Rotta. "It is my belief the pattern we discovered should promote the development of preventative strategies and travel policies to protect the health of all pediatric airplane passengers, especially infants."