Venous Thrombosis After Long-haul Flights

Abstract

HOMANS^1,2 WAS the first to report 2 cases of venous thrombosis after long-distance flights in 1954; in 1977 Symington and Stack³ introduced the term economy class syndrome; and in the past decade at least 200 cases of traveler's thrombosis have been reported in the literature.⁴ The following pathophysiological mechanisms have been suggested: (1) cabin-related factors such as decreased air pressure and release of nitric oxide^5,6; (2) dehydration as a result of the low humidity in the cabin and consumption of alcohol and caffeine during the flight^7,8; and (3) venous stasis.^1,8