Evidence Summaries
Level of Evidence = AEvidence Summaries
Acetazolamide reduces the incidence of acute altitude sickness.
A topic in Clinical Evidence 1 summarizes the results of one systematic review (search date 1999, 9 RCTs, 295 people) and one subsequent trial. According to the systematic review, acetazolamide 500–750 mg daily increased the proportion of people who remained free of acute mountain sickness at altitudes above 4000 meters compared to placebo (AR 67% vs 42%, RR 1.58, 95% CI 1.27 to 1.96). The subsequent RCT (n=197) found that acetazolamide reduced the incidence of acute altitude sickness at altitudes between 4243 and 4937 meters (25% with placebo vs 12% with acetazolamide). Polyuria (33% vs 6%) and paraesthesia (43% vs 10%) were more common with acetazolamide than with placebo. There were no RCTs of sufficient quality comparing acetazolamide and dexamethasone.
References
References
1. Murdoch D. What are the effects of interventions to prevent acute altitude sickness? Altitude sickness. Clinical Evidence 2005;13:1584-1587.
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Citation
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TY - ELEC
T1 - Acetazolamide for the prevention of altitude sickness
ID - 451104
BT - Evidence-Based Medicine Guidelines
UR - https://evidence.unboundmedicine.com/evidence/view/EBMG/451104/all/Acetazolamide_for_the_prevention_of_altitude_sickness
PB - Duodecim Medical Publications Limited
DB - Evidence Central
DP - Unbound Medicine
ER -