Erectile Dysfunction

We decided to increase the dose to the maximum used to treat acute mountain sickness, which was 16 mg/d (8 mg twice daily) on the basis of previous trials that used 4 mg four times daily.

On the basis of our participants' clinical background, applying this dosage on only 4 consecutive days seemed safe, an assumption that was confirmed in our study.

Dr.

Basnyat noticed that we did not comment on possible dangerous mental side effect of dexamethasone.

During our study, we assessed the mental status of all participants daily and did not observe any symptoms of inappropriate euphoria or mental disorientation.

Moreover, to our knowledge, no studies indicate that dexamethasone impairs cognitive functions at high altitude.

Conversely, 2 studies on mountaineers at altitudes higher than 4000 meters, who received 8 to 16 mg of dexamethasone daily, showed an improvement of reaction times and mood status but no effects on personality in cognitive and psychomotor tests (4, 5).

Thus, these results suggest that the use of dexamethasone at high altitude might even improve a mountaineer's awareness while climbing exposed ridges or trekking paths.

However, we cannot generally recommend ...

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