The 2016 season for Everest ER is complete and our team is headed back to Kathmandu to store our supplies away for another year. Our team saw just about 300 patients over the course of ~7 weeks and heres a quick breakdown of the stats: 65% Nepali patients, next 3 most frequent nationalities represented in our patient visits include USA, india, UK. The vast majority of visits were related to cough (27% of visits!) with gastrointestinal complaints coming in a close second. Other commonly seen conditions included altitude illnesses, with a few serious cases of HAPE and HACE. We saw an increased incidence of frostbite compared to past years (5% versus our usual 2-3%.) Dental problems came in at 3% of visits, and we saw one case of high altitude retinal hemorrhage causing visual field deficit. 15% of our patients required evacuation after stabilization.
Drs Tash Pirie-Burley, Tatiana Havryliuk, Yogesh Subedi donated their time and travel to the Everest ER for the entire season, and the HRA is extremely grateful for their personal and professional dedication. Thank yous go out to Dr Rachel Tullet for assisting in the setup of the clinic, and of course to our steadfast logistics manager and rescue coordinator Lakpa Norbu Sherpa.
Did you know that we receive no financial support from climbing permit fees or from the Nepali govt? This clinic will only endure with voluntary continued support from the climbing teams on the mountain, and from donations from those who believe in the mission to support and improve the capacity of the Himalayan Rescue Association (Nepal) and other nonprofit entities to serve native and visitor populations in the Himalaya through their efforts to provide health care, education and research. Hit the donate button and/or come along on our next trek to Nepal – see opportunities by clicking: http://www.www.everester.org/support-us/trek-along-join-us/
Namaste!
