Case Report
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2022. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Aug 26, 2022; 10(24): 8667-8672
Published online Aug 26, 2022. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v10.i24.8667
Analysis of two naval pilots’ ejection injuries: Two case reports
Jia Zeng, Xiao-Peng Liu, Jia-Cheng Yi, Xiang Lu, Dan-Dan Liu, Yan-Qing Jiang, Yan-Bing Liu, Jian-Quan Tian
Jia Zeng, Xiang Lu, Dan-Dan Liu, Yan-Qing Jiang, Yan-Bing Liu, Department of Aviation Disease, Naval Medical Center of PLA, Shanghai 200052, China
Xiao-Peng Liu, Jian-Quan Tian, Department of Psychology, Naval Medical Center of PLA, Shanghai 200052, China
Jia-Cheng Yi, Department of Clinical Medicine, School of Basic Medicine, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang 050017, Hebei Province, China
Author contributions: Zeng J and Liu XP contributed equally to this work; Zeng J and Tian JQ designed the study; Zeng J, Yi JC, Liu DD, Jiang YQ, Lu X, and Liu YB collected and analyzed the clinical data; Zeng J and Yi JC wrote the manuscript; Tian JQ revised the manuscript.
Supported by Key Projects of Medical Service Scientific Research of the Navy Medical Center, No. 20M2302.
Informed consent statement: We obtained consent from all patients or their relatives for the publication of this report.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Jian-Quan Tian, MD, Chief Physician, Department of Psychology, Naval Medical Center of PLA, No. 338 Huaihai West Road, Changning District, Shanghai 200052, China. psychologist@vip.163.com
Received: March 15, 2022
Peer-review started: March 15, 2022
First decision: April 19, 2022
Revised: April 20, 2022
Accepted: July 16, 2022
Article in press: July 16, 2022
Published online: August 26, 2022
Processing time: 153 Days and 16.3 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Recently, two naval pilots in a two-seat trainer jet were forced to eject urgently due to sudden mechanical failure during night-time training. They were both successfully rescued and sent to the hospital for emergency treatment. In this study, we investigate their ejection injuries and recovery process.

CASE SUMMARY

We analyzed the clinical data of the traumatic condition and recovery process from ejection injuries of two pilots who ejected from a failed trainer jet and survived. After being successfully rescued and sent to the hospital, they were diagnosed with multiple ejection injuries, including eye trauma, limb bone and joint injury, rib and spine injury, and so on. Both cases underwent fluid replacement, acid suppression, nutritional support, hemostasis, bone metabolism improvement, phlegm elimination, psychological measurement, blood circulation promotion and detumescence, physical therapy, and external fixation with braces for 1 mo before being discharged from hospital. They then recuperated in a sanatorium for 2 mo, and the related laboratory tests and supplementary examinations show that they recovered from all the above injuries. After successfully passing the psychological test and physical examination, they returned to flight duty 3 mo after ejection.

CONCLUSION

The causes and conditions of ejection injury in the pilots were very complex. Although they finally recovered quickly and were released, it also serves as a reminder that attention should be paid to pilots’ ejection and parachute training in order to significantly reduce ejection injury and improve the ejection success rate. In addition, air defense support personnel should strengthen search and rescue and on-site emergency measures, and locate and rescue pilots in distress as early as possible to reduce subsequent injuries.

Keywords: Aerospace medicine; Pilots; Aviation accidents; Wounds and injuries; Case report

Core Tip: The ejection injuries to pilots are usually very complex. We analyzed two pilots’ traumatic condition and recovery process after they were ejected from a failed trainer and survived. After being successfully rescued, they were diagnosed with multiple ejection injuries and underwent a series of treatments for 1 mo. They then recuperated for 2 mo, and the related tests and examinations show that they recovered from injuries. After passing the psychological test and physical examination, they successfully returned to flight duty. Attention should be paid to pilots’ ejection training in order to reduce ejection injury and improve the ejection success rate. In addition, aviation rescuers should strengthen search techniques to locate and rescue pilots in distress as early as possible to reduce injuries.