Use of dexamethasone is currently indicated for the treatment of moderate-to-severe acute mountain sickness, as well as high-altitude cerebral edema. It has also been found to prevent HAPE, but its routine use is not yet recommended.Notably, each of these medications acts to block hypoxic pulmonary hypertension, lending evidence to the proposed pathophysiology of HAPE outlined above.It is recommended that those who go to high altitude avoid alcohol or sleeping medications. Treatment
The recommended first line treatment is descent to a lower altitude as quickly as possible, with symptomatic improvement seen in as few as 500 to 1,000 meters (1,640 feet to 3,281 feet). However, descent is not mandatory in people with mild HAPE and treatment with warming techniques, rest, and supplemental oxygen can improve symptoms. Giving oxygen at flow rates high enough to maintain an SpO2 at or above 90% is a fair substitute for descent. In the hospital setting, oxygen is generally given by nasal cannula or face mask for several hours until the person is able to maintain oxygen saturations above 90% while breathing the surrounding air. In remote settings where resources are scarce and descent is not feasible, a reasonable substitute can be the use of a portable hyperbaric chamber, which simulates descent, combined with additional oxygen and medications.As with prevention, the standard medication once a climber has developed HAPE is nifedipine, although its use is best in combination with and does not substitute for descent, hyperbaric therapy, or oxygen therapy.
This is evidenced by the appearance of "diffuse," "fluffy," and "patchy" infiltrates described on imaging studies of climbers with known HAPE.Although higher pulmonary arterial pressures are associated with the development of HAPE, the presence of pulmonary hypertension may not in itself be sufficient to explain the development of edema; severe pulmonary hypertension can exist in the absence of clinical HAPE in subjects at high altitude. Diagnosis
The diagnosis of HAPE is entirely based on symptoms and many of the symptoms overlap with other diagnoses. Before HAPE was understood it was commonly confused with pneumonia which resulted in inappropriate treatment.HAPE generally develops in the first 2 to 4 days of hiking at altitudes >2,500 meters (8,200 ft), and symptoms seem to worsen most commonly on the second night. Initial symptoms are vague and include shortness of breath, decreased exercise ability, increased recovery time, fatigue, and weakness, especially with walking uphill. People then develop a dry, persistent cough, and often cyanosis of the lips. Another cardinal feature of HAPE is the rapid progression to dyspnea at rest. The development of pink, frothy, or frankly bloody sputum are late features of HAPE. In some cases, people will develop concomitant neurological features such as poor coordination, altered consciousness, or cerebral edema (High-altitude cerebral edema).On physical exam, increased breathing rates, increased heart rates, and a low-grade fever 38.5o (101.3o F) are common. Listening to the lungs may reveal crackles in one or both lungs, often starting in the right middle lobe.