[Reevaluation of work disability in chronic bronchitis and functional criteria at rest]

As part of an investigation to reassess disability which was performed in 579 subjects with an internist's diagnosis, disability was reassessed in 68 males with chronic bronchitis as the main diagnosis. Disability reassessment was carried out by an informal team of physicians consisting of pulmologists and members of a second degree disability board. The aim of the study was to define the differences between disability reevaluation and residual working capacity. In. chronic bronchitics, a complete functional pulmonary test was carried out including measurement of the degree of obstruction, several specific parameters, non-specific bronchial reactivity and an analysis of arterial blood gases. Disability was reassessed in accordance with the following parameters: accurate evaluation, inaccurate evaluation, residual working capacity, uncompleted treatment. The one-way Kruskal-Wallis rank analysis of non-parametric data attributed the following predictors as specific: age, PC20, FEV1, the condition of hyperreactive airways and the degree of airway obstruction. The relevance of functional criteria ar rest, particularly of FEV1, for assessing the loss of working capacity in persons with chronic obstructive bronchitis is emphasized.