Radiographic evidence of interstitial pulmonary edema after exercise at altitude

Pulmonary function abnormalities after exercise are suggestive of pulmonary edema; however, radiographic evidence is lacking. Well-trained cyclists we re studied to determine whether there is radiographic evidence of pulmonary edema after endurance exercise (cycling distance 5.3-131.5 km) at altitude . Chest radiographs obtained before exercise were coded for later interpret ation. Films obtained after exercise were coded with a different number. A total of 74 sets of posteroanterior and lateral films were analyzed by thre e radiologists for signs of pulmonary edema. Radiographic changes were grad ed on a three-point scale. An edema score was calculated by summing the sco re for each individual radiographic finding for each radiologist and an ove rall edema score representing the mean scores from all three radiologists. The overall edema score increased from 0.8 +/- 1.2 before exercise to 1.8 /- 1.6 after exercise (P < 0.01). These results suggest that, after prolong ed high-intensity exercise at moderate altitude, there is radiographic evid ence of early pulmonary edema in some cyclists.