Return-to-flight outcomes of surgically hospitalized pilots

JIN Xin; YANG Xiaoming; LIU Jun; LI Fange; CAO Yuxuan; LI Xiangsheng; JI Jun

doi:10.3969/j.issn.2097-1753.2025.04.008

Abstract：Objective To analyze the outcomes of surgical treatment and resumption of flight among surgically hospitalized pilots in order to find out about the characteristics of pilots with different re-flight outcomes.Methods A total of 202 pilots who underwent surgical treatment at the Air Force Medical Center between January 1,2012,and May 22,2023 were selected.Based on the results of aeromedical assessments,they were divided into a flight qualified group(186 cases)and an unqualified group(16 cases).The basic information,surgical approaches,and final results of qualification assessments were compared between the two groups.Results In terms of departments where these pilots were hospitalized,the flight qualified group was primarily treated in departments of general surgery,thoracic surgery,and otolaryngology,and the unqualified group in departments of orthopedics and neurosurgery(P=0.009).The median length of hospital stay was 14.50(10.00,22.00)days in the flight qualified group,compared with 23.00(16.25,29.00)days in the unqualified group(Z=-2.817,P=0.005).After surgery,the proportion of patients transferred to the ICU in the unqualified group was higher than in the flight qualified group(P=0.017).The average surgical duration of the unqualified group was 110.00(62.50,195.00)minutes,compared with 60.00(38.50,100.00)minutes in the flight qualified group(Z=-2.413,P=0.016).Conclusion There are significant differences between pilots with different re-flight outcomes.These differences may be indirectly affects their eligibility for re-flight.