Point-of-Care Ultrasound Diagnosis of Acute High Altitude Illness: A Case Report

Wipplinger, Flavia; Holthof, Niels; Lienert, Jasmin; Budowski, Anastasia; Brodmann Maeder, Monika; Moens, Didier (2021). Point-of-Care Ultrasound Diagnosis of Acute High Altitude Illness: A Case Report. Wilderness & environmental medicine, 32(2), pp. 204-209. Elsevier 10.1016/j.wem.2020.12.004

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With the advent of high-quality portable ultrasound machines, point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) has gained interest as a promising diagnostic tool for patients with high altitude illness. Although POCUS is used successfully in hospital environments to detect interstitial pulmonary edema and increased intracranial pressure, the relationship between specific sonographic criteria and high altitude illness is still unclear. We report the case of a healthy 32-y-old male who developed acute respiratory distress and neurologic impairment at 4321 m while participating in a high altitude medical research expedition. We discuss the potential of POCUS to diagnose acute high altitude illness by lung ultrasound, optic nerve sheath diameter measurement, and echocardiography. Ultrasound in combination with clinical findings helped us to exclude relevant differential diagnoses, start on-site treatment, and organize an evacuation. We used serial clinical and ultrasound examinations to assess the patient over time. Although its role in high altitude medicine needs further investigation, we believe that POCUS can be a valuable tool to aid clinical decision-making in remote, high altitude environments.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Further Contribution)

Division/Institute:

04 Faculty of Medicine > Department of Intensive Care, Emergency Medicine and Anaesthesiology (DINA) > Clinic and Policlinic for Anaesthesiology and Pain Therapy
04 Faculty of Medicine > Department of Intensive Care, Emergency Medicine and Anaesthesiology (DINA) > University Emergency Center

UniBE Contributor:

Wipplinger, Flavia Janina, Holthof, Niels Jozef, Brodmann Mäder, Monika Maria

Subjects:

600 Technology > 610 Medicine & health

ISSN:

1080-6032

Publisher:

Elsevier

Language:

English

Submitter:

Romana Saredi

Date Deposited:

10 Jan 2022 16:34

Last Modified:

05 Dec 2022 15:58

Publisher DOI:

10.1016/j.wem.2020.12.004

PubMed ID:

33744108

BORIS DOI:

10.48350/162771

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/162771

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