Aviat Space Envir Md
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Aviat Space Envir Md · Jul 2007
Controlled Clinical TrialSSRI effects on pyschomotor performance: assessment of citalopram and escitalopram on normal subjects.
Standard aeromedical doctrine dictates that aircrew receiving treatment for depression are grounded during treatment and follow-up observation, generally amounting to at least 1 yr. The Canadian Forces has initiated a program to return selected aircrew being treated for depression to restricted flying duties once stabilized on an approved antidepressant with resolution of depression. The currently approved medications are sertraline (a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) and bupropion (noradrenaline and dopamine reuptake inhibitor). This study was undertaken to determine whether or not citalopram or escitalopram affect psychomotor performance. ⋯ While we found some of the expected side effects due to citalopram and escitalopram, there was no impact on psychomotor performance. These findings support the possibility of using citalopram and escitalopram for returning aircrew to restricted flight duties (non-tactical flying) under close observation as a maintenance treatment after full resolution of depression.
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Aviat Space Envir Md · Jul 2007
Pilot fatigue in short-haul operations: effects of number of sectors, duty length, and time of day.
There is little research on what factors are associated with fatigue in short-haul pilots. The aim was to investigate how length of duty, number of sectors, time of day, and departure airport affect fatigue levels in short-haul operations. ⋯ Data from the study enabled the quantification of fatigue at this critical phase of flight in duties lasting between 2 and 12 h and finishing between 08:00 to 24:00. The data obtained may be useful for identifying factors associated with fatigue, evaluating existing fatigue models, and identifying or predicting problem duties within an airline operation. The methodology used in the study may be successfully applied to gather fatigue data in other airline operations.