Effect of High Altitude Exposure, Acclimatization and Re-exposure on Lung Water Content by Ultrasound

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT02760186

Enrollment

Registered

2016-05-03

Start date

2016-03-31

Completion date

2016-12-31

Last updated

2017-05-05

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Effect of High Altitude

Brief summary

Prospective interventional trial in lowlanders evaluating effect of acute exposure, acclimatization and re-exposure to high altitude.

Detailed description

Low altitude baseline measurements will be performed in Santiago de Chile, 520 m, over the course of 3 days. Participants will then travel by commercial airline (5 h flight) and by bus (3 h ride) to the Atacama large Millimeter Array (ALMA) base camp located at 2900 m near San Pedro de Atacama, northern Chile. Participants will stay there for the next 7 nights and they will be spend the days (6-8 h daily) at the telescope station at 5050 m while undergoing physiological testing. Daily transports from 2900 to 5050 m will be by car (1 h ride, one way). After the first 7 day altitude sojourn participants will return to the Santiago area (520 m) for a 7 day recovery period. A second altitude sojourn cycle with an identical schedule as the one described above and a final low altitude stay of 3 days will follow. Measurements on study subjects will be performed at baseline (lowland, Santiago de Chile), then at 2nd day of altitude exposure and 7th day at altitude before returning to lowland; those are repeated in the second altitude sojourn cycle. Measurements will be conducted by qualified specialists using a portable ultrasound device.

Interventions

PROCEDUREAltitude Exposure

Altitude Exposure

Study design

Allocation

Intervention model

SINGLE_GROUP

Primary purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

18 Years to 75 Years

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

* Born, raised and currently living \<800m * No overnight stay at altitudes \> 1500m 4 weeks before the study

Exclusion criteria

* Previous altitude intolerance to altitude \<3000m * Pregnancy * Health impairment, which requires regular treatment

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
ultrasound lung comets	change from lowland baseline at 520m, day 2 and first sojourn at 5050 m, day 2

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
ultrasound lung comets	first sojourn at 5050 m, 7; second sojourn at 5050m, day 2, 7

Countries

Switzerland

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026