Grant S. Lipman

Prospective, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled comparison of acetazolamide versus ibuprofen for prophylaxis against high altitude headache: the Headache Evaluation at Altitude Trial (HEAT).

OBJECTIVE High altitude headache (HAH) is the most common neurological complaint at altitude and the defining component of acute mountain sickness (AMS). However, there is a paucity of literature concerning its prevention. Toward this end, we initiated a prospective, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial in the Nepal Himalaya designed to compare the effectiveness of ibuprofen and acetazolamide for the prevention of HAH. METHODS Three hundred forty-three healthy western trekkers were recruited at altitudes of 4280 m and 4358 m and assigned to receive ibuprofen 600 mg, acetazolamide 85 mg, or placebo 3 times daily before continued ascent to 4928 m. Outcome measures included headache incidence and severity, AMS incidence and severity on the Lake Louise AMS Questionnaire (LLQ), and visual analog scale (VAS). RESULTS Two hundred sixty-five of 343 subjects completed the trial. HAH incidence was similar when treated with acetazolamide (27.1%) or ibuprofen (27.5%; P = .95), and both agents were significantly more effective than placebo (45.3%; P = .01). AMS incidence was similar when treated with acetazolamide (18.8%) or ibuprofen (13.7%; P = .34), and both agents were significantly more effective than placebo (28.6%; P = .03). In fully compliant participants, moderate or severe headache incidence was similar when treated with acetazolamide (3.8%) or ibuprofen (4.7%; P = .79), and both agents were significantly more effective than placebo (13.5%; P = .03). CONCLUSIONS Ibuprofen and acetazolamide were similarly effective in preventing HAH. Ibuprofen was similar to acetazolamide in preventing symptoms of AMS, an interesting finding that implies a potentially new approach to prevention of cerebral forms of acute altitude illness.

Ibuprofen Prevents Altitude Illness: A Randomized Controlled Trial for Prevention of Altitude Illness With Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatories

STUDY OBJECTIVE Acute mountain sickness occurs in more than 25% of the tens of millions of people who travel to high altitude each year. Previous studies on chemoprophylaxis with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are limited in their ability to determine efficacy. We compare ibuprofen versus placebo in the prevention of acute mountain sickness incidence and severity on ascent from low to high altitude. METHODS Healthy adult volunteers living at low altitude were randomized to ibuprofen 600 mg or placebo 3 times daily, starting 6 hours before ascent from 1,240 m (4,100 ft) to 3,810 m (12,570 ft) during July and August 2010 in the White Mountains of California. The main outcome measures were acute mountain sickness incidence and severity, measured by the Lake Louise Questionnaire acute mountain sickness score with a diagnosis of ≥ 3 with headache and 1 other symptom. RESULTS Eighty-six participants completed the study; 44 (51%) received ibuprofen and 42 (49%) placebo. There were no differences in demographic characteristics between the 2 groups. Fewer participants in the ibuprofen group (43%) developed acute mountain sickness compared with those receiving placebo (69%) (odds ratio 0.3, 95% confidence interval 0.1 to 0.8; number needed to treat 3.9, 95% confidence interval 2 to 33). The acute mountain sickness severity was higher in the placebo group (4.4 [SD 2.6]) than individuals receiving ibuprofen (3.2 [SD 2.4]) (mean difference 0.9%; 95% confidence interval 0.3% to 3.0%). CONCLUSION Compared with placebo, ibuprofen was effective in reducing the incidence of acute mountain sickness.

Medical Services at Ultra-Endurance Foot Races in Remote Environments: Medical Issues and Consensus Guidelines

An increasing participation in ultra-endurance foot races is cause for greater need to ensure the presence of appropriate medical care at these events. Unique medical challenges result from the extreme physical demands these events place on participants, the often remote settings spanning broad geographical areas, and the potential for extremes in weather conditions and various environmental hazards. Medical issues in these events can adversely affect race performance, and there is the potential for the presentation of life-threatening issues such as exercise-associated hyponatremia, severe altitude illnesses, and major trauma from falls or animal attacks. Organization of a medical support system for ultra-endurance foot races starts with a determination of the level of medical support that is appropriate and feasible for the event. Once that is defined, various legal considerations and organizational issues must be addressed, and medical guidelines and protocols should be developed. While there is no specific or universal standard of medical care for ultra-endurance foot races since a variety of factors determine the level and type of medical services that are appropriate and feasible, the minimum level of services that each event should have in place is a plan for emergency transport of injured or ill participants, pacers, spectators and event personnel to local medical facilities.

Wilderness Medical Society Practice Guidelines for the Prevention and Treatment of Heat-Related Illness

The Wilderness Medical Society (WMS) convened an expert panel to develop a set of evidence-based guidelines for the recognition, prevention, and treatment of heat-related illness. We present a review of the classifications, pathophysiology, and evidence-based guidelines for planning and preventive measures as well as best-practice recommendations for both field- and hospital-based therapeutic management of heat-related illness. These recommendations are graded based on the quality of supporting evidence and the balance between the benefits and risks or burdens for each modality.

A Prospective Cohort Study of Acute Kidney Injury in Multi-stage Ultramarathon Runners: The Biochemistry in Endurance Runner Study (BIERS)

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the prevalence of acute kidney injury (AKI) during a multi-stage ultramarathon foot race. A prospective observational study was taken during the Gobi 2008; Sahara 2008; and Namibia 2009 RacingThePlanet 7-day, 6-stage, 150-mile foot ultramarathons. Blood was analyzed before, and immediately after stage 1 (25 miles), 3 (75 miles), and 5 (140 miles). Creatinine (Cr), glomerular filtration rate (GFR), and incidence of AKI were calculated and defined by RIFLE criteria. Thirty participants (76% male, mean age 40 + 11 years) were enrolled. There were significant declines in GFR after each stage compared with the pre-race baseline (p < 0.001), with the majority of participants (55–80%) incurring AKI. The majority of study participants encountered significant renal impairment; however, no apparent cumulative effect was observed, with resolution of renal function to near baseline levels between stages.

Effect of an Emergency Department Fast Track on Press-Ganey Patient Satisfaction Scores

Introduction Mandated patient surveys have become an integral part of Medicare remuneration, putting hundreds of millions of dollars in funding at risk. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced a patient experience survey for the emergency department (ED). Development of an ED Fast Track, where lower acuity patients are rapidly seen, has been shown to improve many of the metrics that CMS examines. This is the first study examining if ED Fast Track implementation affects Press-Ganey scores of patient satisfaction. Methods We analyzed returned Press-Ganey questionnaires from all ESI 4 and 5 patients seen 11AM – 1PM, August–December 2011 (pre-fast track), and during the identical hours of fast track, August–December 2012. Raw ordinal scores were converted to continuous scores for paired student t-test analysis. We calculated an odds ratio with 100% satisfaction considered a positive response. Results An academic ED with 52,000 annual visits had 140 pre-fast track and 85 fast track respondents. Implementation of a fast track significantly increased patient satisfaction with the following: wait times (68% satisfaction to 88%, OR 4.13, 95% CI [2.32–7.33]), doctor courtesy (90% to 95%, OR 1.97, 95% CI [1.04–3.73]), nurse courtesy (87% to 95%, OR 2.75, 95% CI [1.46–5.15]), pain control (79% to 87%, OR 2.13, 95% CI [1.16–3.92]), likelihood to recommend (81% to 90%, OR 2.62, 95% CI [1.42–4.83]), staff caring (82% to 91%, OR 2.82, 95% CI [1.54–5.19]), and staying informed about delays (66% to 83%, OR 3.00, 95% CI [1.65–5.44]). Conclusion Implementation of an ED Fast Track more than doubled the odds of significant improvements in Press-Ganey patient satisfaction metrics and may play an important role in improving ED performance on CMS benchmarks.

Injury and Illnesses prevention for ultramarathoners

The popularity of ultramarathon races continue to grow with runners participating in races throughout the world. These events offer challenges unique to an ultramarathon compared to a marathon race. These challenges require the athlete to focus on factors including race distance, race stages, race environment (temperature, humidity, and altitude), appropriate training, nutritional preparation, and equipment. Athletes ill prepared for these challenges will be at risk from injury and illness. The goal of this article is to review preventive strategies for managing commonly encountered musculoskeletal injuries and medical illnesses in ultramarathon runners.

Wilderness Medical Society Practice Guidelines for the Prevention and Treatment of Heat-Related Illness: 2014 Update

The Wilderness Medical Society (WMS) convened an expert panel to develop a set of evidence-based guidelines for the recognition, prevention, and treatment of heat illness. We present a review of the classifications, pathophysiology, and evidence-based guidelines for planning and preventive measures as well as best practice recommendations for both field and hospital-based therapeutic management of heat illness. These recommendations are graded on the basis of the quality of supporting evidence, and balance between the benefits and risks or burdens for each modality. This is an updated version of the original WMS Practice Guidelines for the Prevention and Treatment of Heat-Related Illness published in Wilderness & Environmental Medicine 2013;24(4):351-361.

Optic Nerve Sheath Diameter Increase on Ascent to High Altitude: Correlation With Acute Mountain Sickness.

Elevated optic nerve sheath diameter on sonography is known to correlate with increased intracranial pressure and is observed in acute mountain sickness. This study aimed to determine whether optic nerve sheath diameter changes on ascent to high altitude are associated with acute mountain sickness incidence.

A Prospective Randomized Blister Prevention Trial Assessing Paper Tape in Endurance Distances (Pre-TAPED)

OBJECTIVE Friction foot blisters are a common injury occurring in up to 39% of marathoners, the most common injury in adventure racing, and represent more than 70% of medical visits in multi-stage ultramarathons. The goal of the study was to determine whether paper tape could prevent foot blisters in ultramarathon runners. METHODS This prospective randomized trial was undertaken during RacingThePlanet 155-mile (250-km), 7-day self-supported ultramarathons in China, Australia, Egypt, Chile, and Nepal in 2010 and 2011. Paper tape was applied prerace to one randomly selected foot, with the untreated foot acting as the own control. The study end point was development of a hot spot or blister on any location of either foot. RESULTS One hundred thirty-six participants were enrolled with 90 (66%) having completed data for analysis. There were 36% women, with a mean age of 40 ± 9.4 years (range, 25-40 years) and pack weight of 11 ± 1.8 kg (range, 8-16 kg). All participants developed blisters, with 89% occurring by day 2 and 59% located on the toes. No protective effect was observed by the intervention (47 versus 35; 52% versus 39%; P = .22), with fewer blisters occurring around the tape on the experimental foot than under the tape (23 vs 31; 25.6% versus 34.4%), yet 84% of study participants when queried would choose paper tape for blister prevention in the future. CONCLUSIONS Although paper tape was not found to be significantly protective against blisters, the intervention was well tolerated with high user satisfaction.