Efficiency of complex rehabilitation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and occupational bronchitis

AIM: To evaluate the efficiency of the rehabilitation in patients with obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and occupational bronchitis (OB) and the disabled due to these diseases, which was based on the authors' developed procedure and criteria for evaluating the efficiency of rehabilitative measures. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The efficiency of implementation of 55 individual rehabilitation programs (RP) elaborated by the Medicosocial Examination Bureau for the disabled due to COPD and OB was evaluated. RESULTS: The authors have determined qualitative criteria for evaluating the efficiency of rehabilitation: the extent to which the recommended rehabilitation measures being implemented, the trend in the magnitude of various vital activity categories and social inadequacy and in the disability group on regular examination, the results of implementation of some parts of an individual RP, the conformity of the achieved results to the rehabilitation potential of a disabled patient. The evaluation procedure supposes a unified quantitative gradation of each criterion. Overall, rehabilitation is more effective in COPD than in OB. CONCLUSION: The developed criteria and procedures for evaluating the efficiency of rehabilitation in patients with COPD and OB show a great informative value and practical content richness, which permits one to make corrections into the rehabilitation process. Functional impairments, the degree of vital activity restrictions and social inadequacy, as well as the rehabilitation potential and rehabilitation prognosis are concomitantly evaluated, which allows minor changes to be assessed in the clinical, personality, and social status of a patient.