Morgan W K, Lapp N L, Seaton D
JAMA. 1980 Jun 20;243(23):2401-4.
It has been suggested that the assessment of ventilatory capacity alone is inadequate for the determination of disabling occupational respiratory impairment in coal miners. The Department of Labor has accepted this view and now routinely requests blood gas analyses in those claimants not meeting the ventilatory criteria. We tested the validity of this contention by selecting two groups of coal miners claiming total disability. The first consisted of 150 claimants who were referred for spirometry, while the second consisted of 50 claimants who had been referred for blood gas studies. Of those in group 1, eight met the extent criteria for disability, while only two of those in group 2 satisfied the criteria, and, in both, cardiac disease was responsible. We conclude that blood gas analyses are unnecessary in the determination of pulmonary disability in coal miners.
有人认为，仅通过评估通气能力来确定煤矿工人致残性职业性呼吸损伤是不够的。劳工部已接受这一观点，现在通常会要求对那些不符合通气标准的索赔者进行血气分析。我们通过挑选两组声称完全丧失劳动能力的煤矿工人来检验这一论点的有效性。第一组由150名被转介进行肺活量测定的索赔者组成，第二组由50名被转介进行血气研究的索赔者组成。在第一组中，有8人符合残疾程度标准，而在第二组中只有2人符合标准，并且在这两组中，心脏病都是病因。我们得出结论，在确定煤矿工人的肺部残疾时，血气分析是不必要的。
