Rapid Improvement of High-altitude Sickness among Tunnel Construction Workers through a Gradual Intermittent Hypobaric Hypoxic Acclimatization Technique
(1. School of Civil Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 610031; 2. Key laboratory of Transportation Tunnel Engineering, Ministry of Education, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 610031; 3. Rehabilitation Medicine Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610044; 4. China Railway ten Bureau Group Third Construction Co. Ltd, Hefei 230601)
Abstract：
To reduce the risk of high-altitude sickness in tunnel construction workers operating on plateaus, a gradual and intermittent hypobaric hypoxic acclimatization technique was proposed. In a stratified randomized controlled trial, eight healthy lowland residents were randomly assigned to either a control group or a hypoxic exposure group. A hypobaric hypoxic chamber was used to simulate a gradient altitude environment ranging from 2,500 m to 5,000 m. A 7-day resting exposure protocol was applied with 3 hours of daily training under a stepwise ascending altitude scheme. The results show that this acclimatization approach significantly reduces the incidence rate and severity of acute mountain sickness (AMS) based on Lake Louise Score (LLS). Resting blood oxygen saturation increased by 6.98%, heart rate decreased by 17.24%, and the compensatory elevation in tidal volume (VT) recovered close to the baseline level at sea level. This short-term, 7-day acclimatization protocol overcomes the prolonged duration required by traditional staged acclimatization strategies and effectively satisfies acclimatization demands for high-altitude tunnel construction.
Rapid Improvement of High-altitude Sickness among Tunnel Construction Workers through a Gradual Intermittent Hypobaric Hypoxic Acclimatization Technique
[J] MODERN TUNNELLING TECHNOLOGY, 2025,V62(5): 88-
2025, Vol. 62 