title: Testing individual risk of acute mountain sickness at greater altitudes.
abstract: The assessment of an individual's degree of acclimatization to altitude is difficult. This is particularly applicable to military operations that have to be performed at altitude. This study describes a new and simple test that allows for the determination of an individual's risk for high-altitude illness at higher altitudes. The prediction is based on the lowest oxygen saturation (SaO2) found during an uphill run at high altitude (11,060 ft [3,371 m]), combined with the time needed to complete the run. The test results were compared against the severity of high-altitude symptomatology on the summit of Mont Blanc (15,762 ft [4,808 m]). The main outcome was the significant correlation between time as well as SaO2 and the severity of high-altitude symptomatology on the summit of Mont Blanc. The newly developed performance test allows, at a "safe" altitude, the prediction of an individual's risk of developing high altitude illness if they continue to ascend. It allows the determination of the best acclimatized subjects within a group, for example, before a military mission at greater altitude.
authors.affiliation: Department of Visceral and Thoracic Surgery, Bundeswehr Hospital Ulm, Oberer Eselsberg 40, 89081 Ulm, Germany.
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tannheimer
authors.forename: Nadine
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Albertini
authors.forename: Hans-V
authors.initials: HV
authors.lastname: Ulmer
authors.forename: Alfred
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Engelhardt
authors.forename: Roland
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schmidt
mesh_terms: D000064:Acclimatization / Q000502:physiology*; D000328:Adult; D000531:Altitude; D000532:Altitude Sickness / Q000097:blood*; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008889:Military Personnel; D009051:Mountaineering / Q000502:physiology*; D010092:Oximetry; D010101:Oxygen Consumption / Q000502:physiology; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012420:Running / Q000502:physiology*; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis