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Found this today on the internet and will make some calls this week as promised, but in the meantime here is this brief study. Mike Cheatham is a very good physician and he is well respected in the surgical critical care world . . . Dutch
Medline ® Abstract for Reference 32 of 'Pneumothorax and air travel'
TI Air travel following traumatic pneumothorax: when is it safe?
AU Cheatham ML; Safcsak K
SO Am Surg 1999 Dec;65(12):1160-4.
The safety of air travel for patients sustaining a recent traumatic pneumothorax has long been a subject of debate. The Aerospace Medicine Association has suggested that patients should be able to fly 2 to 3 weeks after radiographic resolution of their pneumothorax. To validate these recommendations, a prospective study was performed. Twelve consecutive patients with recent traumatic pneumothorax expressing a desire to travel by commercial airline were evaluated. Ten patients waited at least 14 days after radiographic resolution of their pneumothorax before air travel (mean, 17.5+/-4.9 days), and all were asymptomatic in-flight. One of two patients who flew earlier than 14 days developed respiratory distress in-flight, with symptoms suggestive of a recurrent pneumothorax. We conclude that commercial air travel appears to be safe 14 days following radiographic resolution of a traumatic pneumothorax.
AD Department of Surgical Education, Orlando Regional Healthcare System, Florida 32806, USA.
PMID 10597066
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