The 2018 Lake Louise Acute Mountain Sickness Score

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The Lake Louise Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) scoring system has been a useful research tool since first published in 1991. Recent studies have shown that disturbed sleep at altitude, one of the five symptoms scored for AMS, is more likely due to altitude hypoxia per se, and is not closely related to AMS. To address this issue, and also to evaluate the Lake Louise AMS score in light of decades of experience, experts in high altitude research undertook to revise the score. We here present an international consensus statement resulting from online discussions and meetings at the International Society of Mountain Medicine World Congress in Bolzano, Italy, in May 2014 and at the International Hypoxia Symposium in Lake Louise, Canada, in February 2015. The consensus group has revised the score to eliminate disturbed sleep as a questionnaire item, and has updated instructions for use of the score.

Keywords

  • AMS, high altitude illness, history, Lake Louise, symptom scores
Original languageEnglish
JournalHigh Altitude Medicine and Biology
Volume19
Issue number1
Early online date1 Mar 2018
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Mar 2018
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