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Publication AbstractsRoutine Electroencephalograms of Pilots Later Killed in Crashes: A Case-Control StudyFrank WeberAviat Space Environ Med 2002; 73:1114-6 AbstractBackground: The value of the electroencephalogram (EEG) as a screening tool in aviation medicine is subject to debate. We evaluated the use of periodic repetition of the EEG--after an initial EEG screening--in healthy, fully-licensed pilots to identify risk factors for fatal air crashes. Methods: In a nested case-control study, we compared the EEG patterns of 33 pilots who died in military aviation accidents from 1990 to 2001 with the recordings of 66 controls. Cases and controls were matched for potentially confounding factors such as age, military membership, type of aircraft, and aeronautical experience. Results: Both groups presented normal EEGs. EEG findings in cases and controls did not differ; nonspecific EEG abnormalities did not occur more frequently in those pilots who crashed. Conclusions: After an initial EEG screening, periodic repetition of the EEG is not a useful means to detect risk for fatal air crashes.Keywords: military medicine, aviation medicine, electronencephalography, epilepsy. Information on subscribing, and on obtaining copies of an article or of an entire issue. Table of Contents for Volume 73, Number 11 of the ASEM journal.
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