Acetazolamide for the treatment of acute mountain sickness

Acute mountain sickness is the most prevalent illness related to acute exposure to high altitude, secondary to the hypobaric hypoxia effects in our body. Acetazolamide has been traditionally used for its prevention and treatment, however, there is still controversy regarding the degree of usefulness of this medication as monotherapy.

We searched in Epistemonikos, the largest database of systematic reviews in health, which is maintained by screening multiple information sources, including MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane, among others. We extracted data from the systematic reviews, reanalyzed data of primary studies, conducted a meta-analysis and generated a summary of findings table using the GRADE approach.

We identified a systematic review that included two primary studies, both corresponding to randomized trials. We conclude that it is not possible to establish clearly whether treatment with acetazolamide reduces the symptoms of acute mountain disease or increases the risk of adverse effects, because the certainty of the existing evidence has been evaluated as very low.