Dr Fazal-e-Rabi Subhani1*, Dr. Ahmad Ehsan Rabani2 , Dr. Fazal-i-Akbar Danish3
The beauty of majestic mountains is the subject of many fairy tales across different cultures worldwide. This grandiose magnificence attracts tens of millions of tourists to high altitude areas every year worldwide. Lower barometric pressure & thus diminished inspired partial pressure of oxygen (PIO2) at high altitudes (>2500 m) means that in some visitors it can result in a fall in partial pressure of alveolar oxygen (PAO2), arterial PO2 (PaO2), & arterial oxygen saturation (SpO2). The resultant tissue hypoxia (called ‘hypobaric hypoxia’) is the initial root cause of high-altitude illness (HAI). Although most healthy children do well at high altitudes, those at risk of developing HAI include premature infants, infants under 6 weeks of age, infants up to one year of age with a history of oxygen requirement, and children with congenital heart disease, cystic fibrosis, pulmonary hypertension, Down syndrome, or neuromuscular problems compromising ventilation.
