A topic in Clinical Evidence 1 summarizes the results of one systematic review (search date 1999, 9 RCTs, 295 people) and one subsequent trial. According to the systematic review, acetazolamide 500-750 mg daily increased the proportion of people who remained free of acute mountain sickness at altitudes above 4000 meters compared to placebo (AR 67% vs 42%, RR 1.58, 95% CI 1.27 to 1.96). The subsequent RCT (n=197) found that acetazolamide reduced the incidence of acute altitude sickness at altitudes between 4243 and 4937 meters (25% with placebo vs 12% with acetazolamide). Polyuria (33% vs 6%) and paraesthesia (43% vs 10%) were more common with acetazolamide than with placebo. There were no RCTs of sufficient quality comparing acetazolamide and dexamethasone.
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