Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons, New York, NY.
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY.
Wilderness Environ Med. 2023 Sep;34(3):354-360. doi: 10.1016/j.wem.2023.03.004. Epub 2023 May 4.
High-altitude expeditions expose teams to particular medical, environmental, and social challenges that can have unintended and severe consequences for crew members. In June 2017, the 9-d Equal Playing Field (EPF) expedition to Mount Kilimanjaro to set a world record for the highest-altitude soccer match ever played demonstrated the variety of challenges that may arise during these types of trips. This trip included a full-length soccer match at 5714 m (18,746 ft), leading to additional challenges for expedition members participating in the athletic event. The EPF medical team identified the challenges that occurred during the expedition and documented the methods used to resolve these challenges in real time. From the challenges faced during the expedition, we describe the lessons learned for future expeditions to Mount Kilimanjaro and other high-altitude environments. Challenges arose with medical tent visibility, medical disqualification, underreporting of medical events, and acute pain management, while anticipated challenges with interpersonal conflict did not occur. The rigorous preparation and anticipation by the EPF medical team prior to expedition departure may have helped mitigate this conflict as well as prevented unintended severe medical events from occurring.
高海拔探险队面临着特殊的医学、环境和社会挑战,这些挑战可能会对队员造成意想不到的严重后果。2017 年 6 月,9d 平等竞争场地(EPF)攀登乞力马扎罗山的探险队试图创造有史以来在最高海拔举行的足球比赛的世界纪录,这一活动展示了在这类旅行中可能出现的各种挑战。此次探险包括在 5714 米(18746 英尺)的高度进行一场完整的足球比赛,这使得参加体育赛事的探险队成员面临更多的挑战。EPF 医疗队确定了在探险过程中出现的挑战,并记录了实时解决这些挑战的方法。从探险中遇到的挑战,我们为未来攀登乞力马扎罗山和其他高海拔环境的探险队总结了经验教训。在医疗帐篷能见度、医疗不合格、医疗事件漏报和急性疼痛管理方面出现了挑战,而预期的人际冲突挑战并没有发生。EPF 医疗队在探险出发前进行了严格的准备和预测,这可能有助于缓解这种冲突,并防止意外的严重医疗事件发生。