Reevaluation of excessive erythrocytosis in diagnosing chronic mountain sickness in men from the world’s highest city
Laura Oberholzer, Carsten Lundby, Émeric Stauffer, Mathilde Ulliel‐Roche, Iván Hancco, Aurélien Pichon, Anne‐Kristine Meinild Lundby, Francisco C. Villafuerte, Samuel Vergès, Paul Robach
Abstract
The diagnosis of chronic mountain sickness (CMS) is based on a score including 7 clinical features (breathlessness, sleep disturbance, cyanosis, venous dilatation, paresthesia, headache, and tinnitus) in the setting of extreme erythrocytosis. Examining individuals in La Rinconada, Peru, the highest city in the world, the authors demonstrated that CMS at extreme altitude is not linked to elevation of hemoglobin, since CMS+ and CMS− individuals had similar levels of erythrocytosis.
Topics & Concepts
MedicineEffects of high altitude on humansAltitude sicknessTinnitusInternal medicinePediatricsCardiologyAudiologyAnatomyHigh Altitude and HypoxiaNeuroscience of respiration and sleepChronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Research