Satosh Baniya, Christopher Holden, Buddha Basnyat
Mountain Medicine Society of Nepal. Nepal International Clinic and Himalayan Rescue Association. Oxford University Clinical Research Unit. University of Oxford.
Nepal and United Kingdom
High Altitude Medicine and Biology
High Alt Med Biol 2017; 18: 425-427
DOI: 10.1089/ham.2017.0088
Abstract
Reentry high altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE), a subset of HAPE, is a well recognized, life-threatening illness documented almost exclusively in the North and South Americans, who live at high altitude (>2500 m) and return to their homes after a brief sojourn of days to months at lower altitude. This phenomenon has not been reported in Sherpas or other people of Tibetan origin in Nepal or India. And it has rarely been reported from Tibet. In this study we document a case of reentry HAPE in Manang region (3500 m) of Nepal in a 7-year-old Nepali boy of Tibetan ancestry who fell ill when he ascended to his village (Manang, 3500 m) from Besisahar (760 m) in 1 day in a motor vehicle after spending the winter (December to March) at Besisahar with his family. With more motorable road access to high altitude settlements in the Himalayas, reentry HAPE may need to be strongly considered by healthcare professionals in local residents of high altitude; otherwise life-threatening complications may ensue as in our case report.
Category
High Altitude Pulmonary Edema
Age Focus: Pediatric Pulmonary Vascular Disease
Fresh or Filed Publication: Filed (PHiled). Greater than 1-2 years since publication
Article Access
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