The main differential diagnoses are acute psychosis, carbon monoxide poisoning, subdural haematoma, hypoglycemia, ingestion of alcohol, seizures and stroke.
Many conditions mimic acute mountain sickness and high altitude cerebral oedema which may delay the diagnosis and early treatment. Importance of AMS lies in its early recognition as it may progress to HACO, clinically identified with onset of ataxia, altered consciousness or both in a person suffering from acute mountain sickness. The symptoms typically develop within 6 to 10 hours after ascent, but sometimes as early as 1 hour. Similar mechanisms are thought to cause cerebral oedema at high altitude, which may represent a more severe form of acute mountain sickness. Impaired cerebral auto regulation, the release of vasogenic mediators and alteration of the blood-brain barrier by hypoxia may also be important. However, symptoms of acute mountain sickness may be the result of cerebral swelling, either through vasodilatation induced by hypoxia or through cerebral oedema.
The pathophysiological processes that cause acute mountain sickness are unknown.
#ALTITUDE SICKNESS MEDICINE PLUS#
The Lake Louise consensus group defined acute mountain sickness as the presence of headache in an unacclimatized person who has recently arrived at an altitude above 3000m plus and the presence of one or more of the following: a) gastrointestinal symptoms like anorexia, nausea or vomiting, b) insomnia, c) dizziness and d) lassitude or fatigue. Acute mountain sickness is a syndrome of nonspecific symptoms and is therefore subjective.
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