Study on ventilatory acclimatization of amarnath pilgrims at the holy amaranth cave

Introduction: Breathing with low inspired oxygen tension leads to low Pao2 and is frequently seen in Amarnath pilgrims during ascent to Holy amaranth cave. At Holy amaranth cave, when the partial pressure of oxygen in inspired air Pio2 decreases and oxygen supply in the body is compromised, many compensatory mechanisms are made in an effort to deliver normal amounts of oxygen to the tissues. The present study was designed with the aim to Study on Ventilatory acclimatization of Amarnath pilgrims at the Holy Amaranth cave. Material and Methods: A total of 75 Amarnath pilgrims of both male and female of five different age groups were taken. An informed consent was taken from each yatri before the study. A wrist second watch was used for counting respiratory rate of Amarnath pilgrims. Counting of breathing rate was done for full 1 minute in lying down position. Result: There were a significant increase in respiratory rate was noted at holy cave from mean Respiration rate 15.53±1.87 breaths per minute to 31.39 cycles per minute with S.D. of 2.98. Conclusion: Ventilatory acclimatization among Amarnath pilgrims seen during yatra was highest at the Holy Amarnath cave.