Clinical endocrinology
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Clinical endocrinology · Dec 2002
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical TrialGlucocorticoids as prophylaxis against acute mountain sickness.
Acute mountain sickness (AMS) characterized by presence of symptoms including headache, nausea, excessive fatigue, loss of appetite, irritability and insomnia is a major impediment to work performance in human subjects who are rapidly inducted to high altitude (HA) during the initial phase of induction. The present study aims at to evaluate the efficacy of prophylactic administration of low dose glucocorticoids in prevention of AMS in normal healthy men who are inducted to HA by air. ⋯ These observations suggest that administration of low-dose glucocorticoids can curtail acute mountain sickness significantly without influencing the normal adreno cortical response to hypoxia.