Introduction: This case illustrates a unique challenge in neurocritical care at high altitude, where sea-level ventilation protocols can be detrimental. It adds novel clinical evidence by showing the pathophysiological consequences and therapeutic reversal of hypercapnia-induced cerebral hyperemia in a high-altitude native with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Main symptoms and findings: A 25-year-old man, lifelong resident at 3600 m above sea level (m.a.s.l.), presented with moderate-to-severe TBI following a motor vehicle accident. He exhibited cerebral edema and hemorrhagic contusions on CT, with transcranial Doppler indicating cerebral hyperemia. Diagnosis, intervention, and outcomes: Initial ventilation based on sea-level PaCO₂ norms led to iatrogenic hypercapnia and cerebral hyperemia. Upon adjusting the ventilatory targets to an altitude-appropriate PaCO₂ range (26–28 mmHg)...

Previous studies suggested that erythropoietin (EPO) may protect against severe COVID-19-induced injuries, ultimately preventing mortality. This hypothesis is based on the fact that, in addition to promoting the increase in red blood cells, EPO is an anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic and protective factor in several non-erythropoietic tissues. Furthermore, EPO promotes nitric oxide production in the hypoxic lung and stimulates ventilation by interacting with the respiratory centers of the brainstem. Given that EPO in the blood is increased at highaltitude, we evaluated the serum levels of EPO in critical patients with COVID-19 at “Hospital Agramont” in the city of El Alto (4150 masl) in Bolivia. A total of 16 patients, 15 men, one woman, with a mean age of 55.8 ± 8.49 years, admitted to the Intensive Care Unit were studied. All patients were permanent residents of El Alto, with no t...

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The neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and the lymphocyte/C-reactive protein ratio (LCR) are prognostic factors in inflammatory, cardiovascular, and oncological dis eases. With the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been recently shown that NLR and LCR are also useful for the prognosis of disease severity in patients infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus at sea level. However, there are no studies demon strating the reliability of NLR and LCR in high-altitude human populations (above 2,500 m). This is relevant because both the incidence and mortality from COVID-19 are decreased in high altitude. A possible explanation of this effect is a lower impact of this virus on the exaggerated inflammatory response induced by the viral infection. The aim of this study is to determine whether the NLR and LCR indices can be used as reliable predictive markers of COVID-19 severity in high-altitude...