[Thromboembolic syndrome from prolonged sitting and flights of long duration: experience of the Emergency Medical Service of the Paris Airports].

The thromboembolic syndrome due to prolonged sitting was described after varied circumstances, particularly among the passengers after a long duration flight. The Aeroports De Paris medical department had collected 70 cases of pulmonary embolism between 1984 and 1998. Their incidence increases during the last years, corresponding to the growth of air traffic and mainly to the increase of long duration without stop flight (76.5% of our cases correspond to more than 12 hours flight). According to the number of the passengers landing in the Aeroports de Paris, the incidence during 1998 is 0.5 per million of passengers, with an important female prevalence and 31% of cases with thrombo-embolic antecedents. 61% of reported cases fainted just after landing. Our experience is limited as it considers only the acute cases, the late accidents do not come in our emergency service.