Reducing the Incidence of High-Altitude Pulmonary Edema
Authors: Matiram Pun, Laxmi V. Ghimire
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2007)

Letters17 April 2007Reducing the Incidence of High-Altitude Pulmonary EdemaMatiram Pun and Laxmi V. Ghimire, MBBSMatiram PunFrom Institute of Medicine and Tribhuvan, University Teaching Hospital, and Nick Simons Institute, Kathmandu, Nepal.Search for more papers by this author and Laxmi V. Ghimire, MBBSFrom Institute of Medicine and Tribhuvan, University Teaching Hospital, and Nick Simons Institute, Kathmandu, Nepal.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-146-8-200704170-00015 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR: In their randomized trial, Maggiorini and colleagues (1) report their impressive outcome that both tadalafil and dexamethasone may reduce the incidence of high-altitude pulmonary edema. They used a dosage of 10 mg twice daily for tadalafil or 8 mg twice daily for dexamethasone from the morning of the day before ascent until the end of the study. We are concerned about the dose adjustments of both drugs for the trial. A previous study used the phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitor sildenafil at a dosage of 40 mg 3 times daily at 6 to 8 hours after arrival at high altitude ...References1. Maggiorini M, Brunner-La Rocca HP, Peth S, Fischler M, Böhm T, Bernheim A, et al. Both tadalafil and dexamethasone may reduce the incidence of high-altitude pulmonary edema: a randomized trial. Ann Intern Med. 2006;145:497-506. [PMID: 17015867] LinkGoogle Scholar2. Richalet JP, Gratadour P, Robach P, Pham I, Déchaux M, Joncquiert-Latarjet A, et al. Sildenafil inhibits altitude-induced hypoxemia and pulmonary hypertension. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2005;171:275-81. [PMID: 15516532] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Aldashev AA, Kojonazarov BK, Amatov TA, Sooronbaev TM, Mirrakhimov MM, Morrell NW, et al. Phosphodiesterase type 5 and high altitude pulmonary hypertension. Thorax. 2005;60:683-7. [PMID: 16061711] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. West JB. The physiologic basis of high-altitude diseases. Ann Intern Med. 2004;141:789-800. [PMID: 15545679] LinkGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Matiram Pun; Laxmi V. Ghimire, MBBSAffiliations: From Institute of Medicine and Tribhuvan, University Teaching Hospital, and Nick Simons Institute, Kathmandu, Nepal.Disclosures: None disclosed. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoBoth Tadalafil and Dexamethasone May Reduce the Incidence of High-Altitude Pulmonary Edema Marco Maggiorini , Hans-Peter Brunner-La Rocca , Simon Peth , Manuel Fischler , Thomas Böhm , Alain Bernheim , Stefanie Kiencke , Konrad E. Bloch , Christoph Dehnert , Robert Naeije , Thomas Lehmann , Peter Bärtsch , and Heimo Mairbäurl Reducing the Incidence of High-Altitude Pulmonary Edema Buddha Basnyat Reducing the Incidence of High-Altitude Pulmonary Edema Marco Maggiorini and Heimo Mairbäurl Metrics 17 April 2007Volume 146, Issue 8 Page: 613 Keywords Conflicts of interest Drugs Edema Hypoxia Prophylaxis Pulmonary hypertension Randomized trials ePublished: 17 April 2007 Issue Published: 17 April 2007 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2007 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...