Wilderness & environmental medicine
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Wilderness Environ Med · Sep 2011
A comparison of the incidence and understanding of altitude illness between porters and trekkers in the Solu Khumbu Region of Nepal.
Altitude illness can occur in anyone who ascends to high altitude. Better understanding of altitude illness is associated with a lower incidence of acute mountain sickness (AMS). The purpose of this study is to compare, for the first time, the incidence and understanding of altitude illness between foreign trekkers and indigenous porters in Nepal. ⋯ Porters had a lower incidence of AMS, which may be attributable to repeated ascents through the trekking season, or differences in reporting symptoms. Both trekkers and porters demonstrated appropriate knowledge of actions to be taken in response to altitude illness.
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Wilderness Environ Med · Mar 2011
The UIAA Medical Commission injury classification for mountaineering and climbing sports.
Variations in definitions, scores, and methodologies have created differences in the results and conclusions obtained from studies on mountaineering and climbing sports injuries and illnesses; this has made interstudy comparisons difficult or impossible. To develop a common, simple, and sport-specific scoring system to classify injuries and illnesses in mountaineering and climbing studies; such retrospective scoring would facilitate the analysis and surveillance of their frequencies, severity and fatalities, and outcomes of any treatment. ⋯ The medical commission of the UIAA recommends the use of the described criteria and scores for future research in mountaineering and climbing sports in order to enable robust and comprehensive interstudy comparisons and epidemiological analysis.
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Wilderness Environ Med · Mar 2011
Case ReportsStroke at high altitude diagnosed in the field using portable ultrasound.
A tool that can differentiate ischemic stroke from other neurological conditions (eg, hemorrhagic stroke, high-altitude cerebral edema) in the field could enable more rapid thrombolysis when appropriate. The resources (eg, an MRI or CT scanner) to investigate stroke at high altitude may be limited, and hence a portable tool would be of benefit. Such a tool may also be of benefit in emergency departments when CT scanning is not available. ⋯ The patient received aspirin and continuous transcranial Doppler was used for its potential therapeutic effects for 12 hours. The patient was then evacuated to a hospital in Kathmandu over the next 48 hours. This case report suggests that portable ultrasound could be used in the prehospital arena to enable early diagnosis of thrombotic stroke.
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Wilderness Environ Med · Dec 2010
Case ReportsRhabdomyolysis and hyponatremia: a cluster of five cases at the 161-km 2009 Western States Endurance Run.
Five of 400 starters of the 2009 Western States Endurance Run (WSER) were hospitalized with hyponatremia and rhabdomyolysis. This article explores the risk factors associated with development of hyponatremia and rhabdomyolysis. ⋯ Over 1% of participants in the 2009 WSER were hospitalized with hyponatremia in combination with rhabdomyolysis. These individuals tended to be younger, faster, more likely to have had an injury that interfered with training, and more likely to have used NSAIDs during the race. Higher initial BUN and creatinine levels, but not CPK concentrations, distinguished those 3 who progressed to acute renal failure.