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Cabin pressure aboard commercial aircraft and non‐arteritic ischemic optic neuropathy
Author(s) -
Nazarali S.,
Liu H.,
Syed M.,
TerZakarian A.,
Karanjia R.,
Sadun A.A.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
acta ophthalmologica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.534
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1755-3768
pISSN - 1755-375X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1755-3768.2017.0t038
Subject(s) - fuselage , cabin pressurization , altitude (triangle) , environmental science , aeronautics , effects of high altitude on humans , aerospace engineering , meteorology , engineering , physics , geometry , mathematics
Purpose To evaluate variations in pressurization of commercial aircraft at cruising altitude. Most aircraft are pressurized between 6,000 and 8,000 feet (ft.), depending on the type of aircraft and composite materials of the fuselage. Patients with NAION may note transient obscurations of vision in concert with low partial pressures of oxygen associated with high altitude. Methods Altimeters were used to measure the altitude and cabin pressure at cruising altitude aboard 83 commercial aircraft, including 38 narrow‐body and 45 wide‐body planes. Single‐aisle aircraft with a fuselage width of 10‐13 ft. were considered narrow‐body, while twin‐aisle aircraft with a fuselage width of 16‐20 ft. were qualified as wide‐body. There were six types of narrow‐body and seven types of wide‐body aircraft studied. Results The mean cabin pressure among all flights was 6,200 ± 970 ft. Narrow‐body aircraft had a significantly greater mean cabin pressure of 6,634 ± 965 ft. compared to wide‐body aircraft with a mean cabin pressure of 5,834 ± 818 ft. (p < 0.001). With respect to service date, newer generation aircraft had a mean cabin pressure of 5,999 ± 949 ft., which was lower than the mean cabin pressure of older aircraft 6,462 ± 946 ft. (p = 0.03). Conclusions Innovation in flight design has offered the ability for aircraft to fly at greater altitudes, while maintaining lower cabin pressures. Those at high risk of hypoxia induced complications such as NAION may consider aircraft type when air travel is required. Although all flights studied maintained pressurization below suggested United States Federal Aviation Administration ( FAA ) guidelines, the possibility for oxygen desaturation remains with current flight practices, especially in those at high risk.