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Ambulatory physiological status monitoring during a mountaineering expedition
L A Sonna1, J E Kain, R W Hoyt
1Thermal and Mountain Medicine Division, U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, Natick, MA 01760, USA.
Objective:
To evaluate an ambulatory physiological monitoring system during a mountaineering expedition. We hypothesized that the Environmental Symptoms Questionnaire, combined with frequent measurement of oxygen saturation and core temperature, would accurately identify cases of environmental illness.
Methods:
Twelve military mountaineers took a daily Environmental Symptoms Questionnaire, monitored fingertip oxygen saturations, and recorded core temperatures while climbing a 4,949-m peak. Illnesses identified by the system were compared with those identified by spontaneous reports.
Results:
The system correctly identified one case of high-altitude pulmonary edema and two illnesses that were not reported to the physician (one case of acute mountain sickness and one of self-limited symptomatic desaturation). However, it did not identify two illnesses that were severe enough to preclude further climbing (one case of sinus headache and one of generalized fatigue).
Conclusions:
Our monitoring system may complement, but cannot replace, on-site medical personnel during mountaineering expeditions.