[The substantiation of the use of high-frequency intrapulmonary ventilation in the patients presenting with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at the spa and health resort stage of rehabilitation].

Unlabelled: The importance of the development of the new methods for the rehabilitation of the patients presenting with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease under conditions of the spa and health resort-based treatment arises from the high prevalence and the progressive character of this disease, poor quality of the patients' life, great economic losses due to the reduction of the working capacity of the patients, and the high cost of COPD treatment.

Aim: The objective of the present study was to substantiate the advisability of inclusion of high-frequency intrapulmonary ventilation in the program of the therapeutic and rehabilitative treatment of the patients with COPD based at a spa and health resort facility.

Patients And Methods: The analysis of the results of examination and rehabilitative treatment included 49 patients treated at the «Belokurikha» health resort (14 women and 35 men presenting with stage 1 and 2 COPD). The patients were divided into two groups. The main one included 23 patients while the group of comparison consisted of 26 patients. Those of the main group were given the treatment that included the mineral water baths, inhalations, exercise therapy for the training of skeletal muscles, manual massage, high-frequency intrapulmonary ventilation, intake of extract maral root (Rhaponticum carthamoides) and the «Yantar antiox» (amber antiox) preparation. The patients of the comparison group received the same rehabilitative treatment but without high-frequency intrapulmonary ventilation. The effectiveness of the rehabilitative measures was comprehensively estimated from the dynamics of the clinical data, indices of the inflammatory activity, the results of spirography and 6 minute walking test.

Results: It has been shown that the introduction of high-frequency intrapulmonary ventilation into the spa and health resort-based rehabilitative program facilitates the elimination of clinical manifestation of the disease, promotes recovery of the external respiration function due to sputum recruiting and stimulation of mucociliary clearance that in turn decreases the activity of the inflammatory processes. Simultaneously, the thoracic mobility and physical efficiency of the patients increased. The overall result of the treatment was the enhanced quality of rehabilitation of the patients suffering COPD within 14-16 days of their stay at the health resort with excellent tolerability of the proposed therapeutic modality.