Project Title: You Take My Breath Away - Losing Consciousness at 12,600 feet Authors: Sterling Adams D.O. PGY1; Robert Petro D.O. PGY3; Kathryn Vidlock M.D. CAQ- PCSM
Program: HealthOne Family Medicine Residency at Sky Ridge Medical Center
Abstract: After running 45 miles in a 100-mile, high altitude race in the rocky mountains, contestants were torn between stopping to help a racer unconscious at 12,600 feet or being able to stay in the race they had been training years for. Medical personnel were required to race up the mountain on foot to evacuate the patient who was found going in and out of consciousness with coarse crackles noted on lung bases bilaterally, tachypnea/dyspnea, tachycardia and cough. Patient was safely transported off the mountain, with acute treatment in the field. He was then transported by helicopter to a large metropolitan hospital in a nearby city. The poster will address risk factors, preventative strategies and treatment of HAPE according to the new guidelines of the Wilderness Medical Society in 2019.
Learning Objectives: Participants will be able to…
• Identify the signs and symptoms of HAPE
• Implement preventative strategies for HAPE
• Execute treatments based on guidelines from the Wilderness Medical Society of 2019
Category: Case report