Objective: To evaluate the Sharpened Romberg Test (SRT) as a measure of ataxia in subjects with mild acute mountain sickness in order to determine its sensitivity and specificity.
Methods: The SRT was performed in 23 subjects during ascent to 5260 m.
Results: The SRT was more often abnormal than the traditional heel-to-toe test, and at the highest altitude it was related to higher median Lake Louise symptom scores with predictive values of 60% sensitivity and 89% specificity. Our evaluation of the SRT appears to agree with similar studies on ataxia showing a lack of correlation between ataxia and symptoms of acute mountain sickness at altitudes below 5260 m.
Conclusion: The SRT was easy to perform and provided a quantitative assessment of truncal ataxia in the field without the need for specialized equipment.