title: A Tibetan with chronic mountain sickness followed by high altitude pulmonary edema on reentry.
abstract: Chronic mountain sickness (CMS) and high altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE) each occur rarely in Tibetans, and they have previously not been reported in the same person. Here we describe a 37-year-old native Tibetan man with CMS at 4300 m, who developed HAPE after his return home from a 12-day visit to sea level. Possible common pathogenetic factors included a poor ventilatory response to hypoxia, accentuated hypoxemia, pulmonary hypertension, and increased blood volume. In addition, strenuous exercise and high levels (to approximately 1000 ng/L) of plasma atrial natriuretic peptide may have contributed to HAPE.
authors.affiliation: High Altitude Medical Research Institute, Xining, Qinghai, P. R. China. wutianyiqh@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Tianyi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000532:Altitude Sickness / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D001784:Blood Gas Analysis; D002908:Chronic Disease; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008297:Male; D011654:Pulmonary Edema / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000628:therapy; D011859:Radiography; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D018609:Tibet; D016896:Treatment Outcome