The Use of Pulse Oximetry at High Altitude

Tannheimer M

doi:10.31031/rism.2020.06.000631

Abstract

Research & Investigations in Sports Medicine The Use of Pulse Oximetry at High Altitude Tannheimer M* University Ulm, Germany *Corresponding author: Markus Tannheimer, University Ulm, Germany Submission: February 17, 2020;Published: February 26, 2020 DOI: 10.31031/RISM.2020.06.000631 ISSN 2578-0271 Volume6 Issue2

Highlights

More than 100 million people visit high mountain regions every year and engage there in sporting activities [1]
A deficient standardization of SpO2 measurement at altitude and fundamental differences in the study design are most likely the major reasons for the heterogeneous study situation regarding the predictability of acute mountain sickness (AMS) by pulse oximetry [7,12,33,34,35,36,37]
Pulse oximetry is ubiquitously used during high altitude sojourns

Summary

Introduction

More than 100 million people visit high mountain regions every year and engage there in sporting activities [1]. A deficient standardization of SpO2 measurement at altitude and fundamental differences in the study design are most likely the major reasons for the heterogeneous study situation regarding the predictability of AMS by pulse oximetry [7,12,33,34,35,36,37]. The investigator has to be trained for pulse oximetric measurements at altitude, as he has to determine the representative SpO2 value visually from the display of the device out of the measurement interval [12]. We investigated how heavy physical work with the arms during an ice climb to Les Courtes (3856m) over the Northeast Couloir (800m, 45°-50° steep ice) affects the validity of the pulse oximetric measurement Even during this extreme activity of ice climbing, enough correct SpO2 values remain to allow a meaningful assessment of the saturation course [43]. We could show that the test result improves with increasing acclimatization (faster running time, higher SpO2) [39]

Conclusion

Findings

Res Inves Sports Med