Reducing the Incidence of High-Altitude Pulmonary Edema
Authors: Marco Maggiorini, Heimo Mairbäurl
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2007)

Letters17 April 2007Reducing the Incidence of High-Altitude Pulmonary EdemaMarco Maggiorini, MD and Heimo Mairbäurl, PhDMarco Maggiorini, MDFrom University Hospital Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland, and the University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.Search for more papers by this author and Heimo Mairbäurl, PhDFrom University Hospital Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland, and the University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-146-8-200704170-00017 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail IN RESPONSE: We thank Mr. Pun and Dr. Ghimire and Dr. Basnyat for their interest and comments on our recent publication. When we designed and performed our study, Richalet and colleagues (1) and Aldashev and colleagues (2) had not yet published their work on sildenafil, which both showed that sildenafil decreases hypoxic pulmonary hypertension. Sildenafil must be taken in rather brief intervals because of its short half-life of 4 to 5 hours. Because we tested the effectiveness of 2 drugs in our study, we needed to match the time of drug intake and chose the phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitor tadalafil with a ...References1. 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 Scholar2. 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 Scholar3. Rock PB, Johnson TS, Larsen RF, Fulco CS, Trad LA, Cymerman A. Dexamethasone as prophylaxis for acute mountain sickness. Effect of dose level. Chest. 1989;95:568-73. [PMID: 2920585] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Lafleur J, Giron M, Demarco M, Kennedy R, BeLue R, Shields C. Cognitive effects of dexamethasone at high altitude. Wilderness Environ Med. 2003;14:20-3. [PMID: 12659245] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Jobe JB, Shukitt-Hale B, Banderet LE, Rock PB. Effects of dexamethasone and high terrestrial altitude on cognitive performance and affect. Aviat Space Environ Med. 1991;62:727-32. [PMID: 1930053] MedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Marco Maggiorini, MD; Heimo Mairbäurl, PhDAffiliations: From University Hospital Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland, and the University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.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 Matiram Pun and Laxmi V. Ghimire Metrics 17 April 2007Volume 146, Issue 8Page: 613-614KeywordsAltitude sicknessClimbingDrugsEdemaErectile dysfunctionHalf lifeProphylaxisPulmonary hypertensionSafetySigns and symptoms ePublished: 17 April 2007 Issue Published: 17 April 2007 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2007 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...