Veronika Leichtfried1, Daniel Basic2, Martin Burtscher3, Raffaella Matteucci Gothe4, Uwe Siebert4, Wolfgang Schobersberger5. 1. Institute for Sports Medicine, Alpine Medicine and Health Tourism, UMIT-University for Health Sciences, Medical Informatics and Technology and TILAK Innsbruck, Eduard Wallnöfer Zentrum 1, 6060, Hall in Tirol, Austria. veronika.leichtfried@umit.at. 2. Department of Internal Medicine III, University Hospital Innsbruck, Anichstrasse 35, A-6020, Innsbruck, Austria. 3. Department of Sport Science, Medical Section, University of Innsbruck, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria. 4. Institute of Public Health, Medical Decision Making and HTA, UMIT-University for Health Sciences, Medical Informatics and Technology, 6060, Hall in Tirol, Austria. 5. Institute for Sports Medicine, Alpine Medicine and Health Tourism, UMIT-University for Health Sciences, Medical Informatics and Technology and TILAK Innsbruck, Eduard Wallnöfer Zentrum 1, 6060, Hall in Tirol, Austria.
Abstract
PURPOSE: Commercialization of trekking tourism enables untrained persons to participate in trekking tours. Because hypoxia is one of the main purported triggers for acute mountain sickness (AMS), pulse oximetry, which measures arterial oxygen saturation (SPO2), is discussed to be a possible and useful tool for the diagnosis of AMS. The purpose of this study was to evaluate possible associations between SPO2 values and the occurrence of AMS. METHODS: In 204 trekkers, SPO2 values (pulse oximetry) were measured and the Lake Louise Self-assessment Score (LLS) was administered over the first 7 days of their trekking tours. RESULTS: During treks at altitudes of 2500-5500 m in Nepal, India, Africa, and South America, 100 participants suffered from mild AMS, 3 participants suffered from severe AMS, and 9 participants reported both mild and severe AMS. The lowest mean SPO2 was 85.5 (95 % confidence interval (CI), 83.9-86.1 %) on day 5. SPO2 and LLS exhibited a weak to moderate negative correlation for all days of the study (ρ ranging from -0.142 to -0.370). Calculation of time-shifted associations of 24 and 48 h resulted in the disappearance of most associations. Susceptibility to headaches (odds ratio (OR) 2.9-7.2) and a history of AMS (OR 2.2-3.1) were determined to be potential risk factors for the development of AMS. CONCLUSION: Since there is no strong altitude-independent association between AMS and SPO2 during the first week of high-altitude adaptation, the implementation of pulse oximetry during trekking in order to detect and predict AMS remains questionable.
PURPOSE: Commercialization of trekking tourism enables untrained persons to participate in trekking tours. Because hypoxia is one of the main purported triggers for acute mountain sickness (AMS), pulse oximetry, which measures arterial oxygen saturation (SPO2), is discussed to be a possible and useful tool for the diagnosis of AMS. The purpose of this study was to evaluate possible associations between SPO2 values and the occurrence of AMS. METHODS: In 204 trekkers, SPO2 values (pulse oximetry) were measured and the Lake Louise Self-assessment Score (LLS) was administered over the first 7 days of their trekking tours. RESULTS: During treks at altitudes of 2500-5500 m in Nepal, India, Africa, and South America, 100 participants suffered from mild AMS, 3 participants suffered from severe AMS, and 9 participants reported both mild and severe AMS. The lowest mean SPO2 was 85.5 (95 % confidence interval (CI), 83.9-86.1 %) on day 5. SPO2 and LLS exhibited a weak to moderate negative correlation for all days of the study (ρ ranging from -0.142 to -0.370). Calculation of time-shifted associations of 24 and 48 h resulted in the disappearance of most associations. Susceptibility to headaches (odds ratio (OR) 2.9-7.2) and a history of AMS (OR 2.2-3.1) were determined to be potential risk factors for the development of AMS. CONCLUSION: Since there is no strong altitude-independent association between AMS and SPO2 during the first week of high-altitude adaptation, the implementation of pulse oximetry during trekking in order to detect and predict AMS remains questionable.
Entities:
Keywords:
Acute mountain sickness; Adaptation; Field studies at high altitude; Lake Louise Score; Pulse oximetry
Authors: Jack A Loeppky; Milton V Icenogle; Gerald A Charlton; Carole A Conn; Damon Maes; Katrina Riboni; Lee Gates; Marcos F Vidal Melo; Robert C Roach Journal: High Alt Med Biol Date: 2008 Impact factor: 1.981
Authors: Alexandra B Cobb; Denny Z H Levett; Kay Mitchell; Wynne Aveling; Daniel Hurlbut; Edward Gilbert-Kawai; Philip J Hennis; Monty G Mythen; Michael P W Grocott; Daniel S Martin Journal: Physiol Rep Date: 2021-04