Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Pulse Oximeter

Does anyone have any experience using a Pulse Oximeter while hiking Mt. Whitney? Can a trend of results be used to predict AMS?

Thanks.

I've carried one for a couple of years for EMS cases. The basic answer is no, it probably won't help you predict AMS. I've seen a huge range of O2 saturation and haven't really been able to spot a trend. By the time someone is symptomatic, that's the clue.

There's some help, maybe, in comparing a group of people all going at the same rate. I suppose someone who's out of range for the group might be at higher risk.

I now use it mostly to give me a good pulse and the O2 sat as another bit of data in deciding how serious someone is. But I've never really used it to determine if someone should be flown out or stay -- I stick to signs and symptoms (how they look, how they report feeling, trend -- getting better or getting worse, pulse, & respiration).

University Medical Center in Fresno was doing a small study on the Sierra Crest taking pulse/ox, but hasn't yet published, as far as I know. Don't know what they came up with.

George

I agree with George's approach and thinking.

When we did our study of 1800 hikers on Whitney, we measured the Ox Sat. The data was of no value, although it was at the end of a hike.

I still think the actual signs and symptoms are the way to go.

Agree a pulse ox trend to predict AMS in advance is difficult.

But..just to add to the discussion (although this was not the question), there is another use for it, especially at altitudes higher than Whitney, or with a rare Sierra HAPE case:

sometimes people lagging behind with "Mountaineer's Foot" (can't put one in front of the other) actually may be much worse off than we realize. So if their O2 sat is 70 and everyone else is 90, descent and/or evacuation which is already necessary is now seen as immediately imperative. That might (should!) change the plan.