Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) Impact Among Travelers to Cusco, Peru

A study published in the Journal of Travel Medicine was performed in the airport of Cusco city, among travelers that visited Cusco, Peru (3,400 m), 18 years or older, staying 15 days or less, departing Cusco using the Lake Louise Clinical score was used to assess AMS symptoms. In total, 991 travelers participated, with a median age 32 years, mostly from the United States (48.2%). Most of them (76.7%) flew from sea level to Cusco and 30.5% visited high altitude in the previous 2 months. Only one third approx. received AMS advice from a physician. Coca leaf products (62.8%) were used more often than acetazolamide (16.6%) for prevention. AMS was reported by almost half of the travelers and 17.1% had severe AMS. One in five travelers with AMS altered their travel plans. Travelers older than 60 years, with recent high-altitude exposure, who visited lower cities in their itinerary, or used acetazolamide were less likely to have AMS. Using coca leaf products was associated with increased AMS frequency. As Conclusions, AMS was common and adversely impacted plans of one in five travelers. Acetazolamide was associated with decreased AMS but was prescribed infrequently.
Key words: Coca leaves altitude sickness, AMS, Acetazolamide, Travelers to Cusco

Information obtained from the article: “Hugo Salazar, Jessica Swanson, Karen Mozo, A. Clinton White, Miguel M. Cabada, Acute Mountain Sickness Impact Among Travelers to Cusco, Peru, Journal of Travel Medicine, Volume 19, Issue 4, 1 July 2012, Pages 220–225, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1708-8305.2012.00606.x”