Ross altitude sickness Flashcards
A patient is running a marathon presents to the first aid tent. He is slightly confused with a temp of 103.4. Your next best action is which of the following?
A. give tylenol and let him go home
B. Give po fluids and let him go home
C. Have him urinate and look for blood
D. Send to higher level care for eval and treatment
D
at a very high altitude 12,000-18,000ft does all of you tissue acclimate?
no hypoxia occurs, <90% of tissues acclimate
True or false: The partial pressure decreases as a function of the barometric pressure?
True. Denver at 5280 air pressure is 17% less than sea level air so 17% less oxygen
What anatomical structure detects the decrease in arterial oxygenation? and what is the bodies response?
Chemoreceptors in the carotid body notice the decrease and communicate with the medullary respiratory neurons which then tell the body (through more steps) to increase ventilation
What is the ventilatory response when its your day one in high altitude?
Step 1. Hypoxia Step 2. Carotid body notices it Step 3. Medullary center stimulated Step 4. Respirations are increased Step 5. increased respirations blows off to much CO2 causing Respiratory alkalosis
Now you have been in altitude for 1.5 days. What is the body response?
Still hypoxia and wanting to stimulate medullary center, but the respiratory alkalosis is telling the medullary center to slow down breathing so your breathing now is slower.
Generally is there an increase in oxygen delivery to the cell when acclimating to high altitude?
No
When in high altitude your SNS activity is increased, this causes what effect.
- Causing decreased aldosterone release
- This causes or results in increased peeing
- Increased peeing decreases total fluid volume in the body.
- This causes decreased stroke volume
- Decreased stroke volume cause an increase in HR
When acclimating to high altitude do pulmonary vessels constrict or dilate due to hypoxia?
They constrict so pulmonary vascular resistance increases
On day two of ventilatory acclimation the kidneys excrete what to compensate for resp alkalosis?
They start to excrete sodium bicarb
If you know of someone who will be traveling and staying at high altitude what medication can you give them to help acclimate? and why?
Acetazolamide, this medication increases bicarbonate secretion
Peripheral VC triggers ________ to suppress secretion of _________ and aldosterone
baroreceptors
ADH
after 90 days of being in high altitude you will have an increase in what?
RBC and Hb along with erythropoiten release is increased in response to hypoxia
If there is no recent history of an ascent can someone have acute mountain sickness (AMS)
No there needs to be an ascent to have AMS
What symptoms would make you suspect AMS?
AMS is characterized by
- Headache
- Gi disturbance
- Dizziness
- Sleep disturbance
and of course history of an ascent