[A preliminary report on changes in micro-circulation of conjunctiva in patients with high altitude pulmonary edema]

Micro-circulation of conjunctiva was investigated in 36 patients with high altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE) and 21 healthy subjects who arrived recently in high land and were the controls, and plasma angiotensin II (AT II) and aldosterone (ALD) were determined in 16 patients with HAPE and in the control group. The results show that the concentrations of plasma AT II, ALD in patients with HAPE are obviously higher than those of the healthy individuals (P < 0.001), the degree of changes in micro-circulation of conjunctiva in patients with HAPE is directly proportional to the degree of severity of HAPE, and the higher the concentrations of plasma AT II and ALD, the severer the degree of changes in micro-circulation.