HIGH ALTITUDE HEADACHE – AN ETIOLOGICAL BASED STUDY

High Altitude Headache

Abstract

Objective: To determine the various causes of headache in patients evacuated from high altitude.
Design: Descriptive study
Materials and Methods: An observational hospital based study carried out on 50 soldiers evacuated from Northern Areas to Military Hospital Rawalpindi between Sep 2009 to Mar 2010 for evaluation of headache as their major complaint. Necessary investigations including neuroimaging were carried out in coordination with Department of Neurology, Military Hospital and an appropriate diagnosis was made in each case. The data was analyzed accordingly.
Results: A total of 50 patients were analyzed .They were all males and the mean age was 25 years. 52% patients had Acute Mountain Sickness, 12% hypertension, 10% High altitude cerebral edema, 8% Tension type headaches, 6% Dural venous sinus thrombosis, 6% migraine, 2% encephalitis, 2% were of Subarachnoid hemorrhage and 2% patients Hydrocephalus.
Conclusion: Acute mountain sickness and high altitude cerebral edema accounts for a significant number of patients with high altitude headache