Tom Smedley, Michael PW Grocott
Institute of Child Health, University of Southampton, University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust. Sir Henry Wellcome Laboratories.
United Kingdom
British Journal of Pain
Br J Pain 2013; 7: 85-94
DOI: 10.1177/2049463713489539
Abstract
Acute high-altitude illness is an encompassing term for the range of pathology that the unacclimatised individual can develop at increased altitude. This includes acute mountain sickness, high-altitude cerebral oedema and high-altitude pulmonary oedema. These conditions represent an increasing clinical problem as more individuals are exposed to the hypobaric hypoxic environment of high altitude for both work and leisure. In this review of acute high-altitude illness, the epidemiology, risk factors and pathophysiology are explored, before their prevention and treatment are discussed. Appropriate ascent rate remains the most effective acute high-altitude illness prevention, with pharmacological prophylaxis indicated in selected individuals. Descent is the definitive treatment for acute high-altitude illness, with the adjuncts of oxygen and specific drug therapies.
Category
High Altitude Pulmonary Edema
Class III. Pulmonary Hypertension Associated with Alveolar Hypoxia
Review Articles Concerning Pulmonary Vascular Disease
Age Focus: Pediatric Pulmonary Vascular Disease or Adult Pulmonary Vascular Disease
Fresh or Filed Publication: Filed (PHiled). Greater than 1-2 years since publication
Article Access
Free PDF File or Full Text Article Available Through PubMed or DOI: Yes