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Adults from left: Emma Scrase, John Caudwell, Professor Janet Stocks, Dr Samantha Sonnappa, Dr Mike Grocott, Professor Mothy Mythen, Kate Mythen with children from left: Mayank Naik (6), Charlotte Mythen (11), Tom Mythen (6), Alice Mythen (8) and Patrick Mythen (13). |
Pupils set off to conquer Mt Everest
Hospital hopes expedition will aid in the treatment of breathing disorders
A GROUP of children are to travel to Mount Everest later this month as part of a ground-breaking study i nto treatments for breathing and sleep disorders.
The nine children, aged from six to 13-years-old, are part of the Smiths Medical Young Everest Study, being conducted by doctors and scientists from Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) and University College London’s Institute of Child Health (ICH).
Part of the Caudwell Xtreme Everest medical study which has been studying the effects of high altitude on adults, the new study will investigate how children cope with low oxygen levels on the world’s tallest mountain.
Doctors hope that by investigating how healthy children’s bodies cope and adapt at altitude, they will improve the chances of survival for very sick children.
Professor Janet Stocks, professor of respiratory physiology at University College London, who is leading the team, said: “Low oxygen levels are common in sick children: they are found in babies born too early or with heart abnormalities, children with chronic lung diseases such as cystic fibrosis and children so sick they need to be treated in intensive care units.
“Because there have been so few studies on the effect of altitude on children, much of the advice to parents who travel to altitude with their children has to be based on adult data, even though it is recognised there may be important differences due to growth and development.”
Professor Monty Mythen, Smiths Medical Chair of Anaesthesia and Critical Care at UCL, is currently in Nepal running the Smiths Medical high altitude laboratory. His four children, Patrick, 13, Charlotte, 11, Alice, 8 and Tom, 6 are taking part in the study.
He said: “This is a tremendous education and opportunity for them. It’s a chance to experience travel and a different culture – and the medical research could benefit many sick children in the future.”
The children will arrive in Kathmandu on March 25, accompanied by Professor Stocks, respiratory paeditrician Dr Samatha Sonnappa (who is taking her own son, Mayank, 6) and physiologists Emma Scrase, Aidan Laverty and Johanna Dingle-Gavlak.
The team will fly across the mountains to Lukla and trek from there to the high altitude laboratory before trekking on to Tengboche, 3870m above sea level. The older children may then continue to Everest Base Camp – 5300m above sea level.
Each morning the children will record how they are feeling in a diary. They will also be given a breathing test and have their blood pressure, oxygen saturation and heart rate measured.
Doctors will also monitor their sleeping patterns wherever possible to see how well they are adapting to altitude.
Professor Stocks said: “The information gathered will provide important information about how children’s bodies cope and adapt in low oxygen conditions.
“We hope that the results can be used to help the many children we treat at Great Ormond Street Hospital who suffer from a shortage of oxygen due to a variety of lung problems and sleep disorders.” |
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