What Is New in Altitude- and Cold-Related Illnesses of Travel: Appraisal and Summary of the Updated Guidelines from the Wilderness Medical Society

Arghavan Omidi, Gregory D. Hawley, Dylan Kain, Farah Jazuli, Milca Meconnen, Mark Polemidiotis, Nam Phuong Do, Olamide Egbewumi and Andrea K. Boggild ()
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Arghavan Omidi: Faculty of Dentistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5G 1G6, Canada
Gregory D. Hawley: Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3H2, Canada
Dylan Kain: Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3H2, Canada
Farah Jazuli: Department of Medicine, Division of Emergency Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8L 2X2, Canada
Milca Meconnen: Department of Biology, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1, Canada
Mark Polemidiotis: Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3H2, Canada
Nam Phuong Do: Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3H2, Canada
Olamide Egbewumi: Tropical Disease Unit, Toronto General Hospital, Toronto, ON M5G 2C4, Canada
Andrea K. Boggild: Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3H2, Canada

IJERPH, 2025, vol. 22, issue 2, 1-22

Abstract: Wilderness medicine is a rapidly evolving field and has benefited from expanded research efforts. Moreover, with an escalating occurrence of severe and cataclysmic global climatologic events, human illness arising from interaction with wilderness and recreational environments warrants increasing consideration. Within the last decade, the Wilderness Medical Society (WMS) has aggregated research findings and created guidelines on prevention measures and therapeutic options for acute altitude illness, frostbite injuries, and avalanche and non-avalanche snow burials. As new research emerges, some guidelines have been updated to reflect the most current and sound scientific conclusions. In this review, we have synthesized the evidence-based guidelines and have reviewed the quality of the guidelines according to the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation (AGREE) II framework. Further research efforts can expand the scope of evidence-based practice in travel medicine and ideally standardize the implementation of recommendations within both pre-travel and post-travel medical practices.

Keywords: acute mountain sickness; avalanche; frostbite; high-altitude cerebral edema; high-altitude pulmonary edema; Wilderness Medicine Society (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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