Introduction:

the native of altitude is in an environment of permanent hypoxia, which favors the development of physiological protection against acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).

Material and methods:

observational, retrospective, longitudinal, comparative study in patients with severe ARDS due to SARS-CoV-2 in groups categorized based on the geographical altitude of the place of origin.

Results:

45 patients were recruited. In the group of residents of low, medium and high altitude, the 90-day survival was 50, 62.5 and 77.1%, p = 0.546, respectively. Patients from low and medium altitude required more days of intensive care stay, days of hospitalization and days of mechanical ventilation, when compared to natives from high altitude (20.6 vs 16.49, p = 0.295; 27.3 vs 24.71, p = 0.595; 20 vs 15.47, p = 0.305, respectively).

Conclusion:

survival in patients native to high altitude tends to be greater compared to that of non-acclimatized patients who reside at medium and low altitudes, and not being native to high altitude is associated with a tendency to require more days of mechanical ventilation, longer stay in intensive care and more days of hospitalization.

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