Rating Schedule

CRITERIA FOR EVALUATING PERMANENT IMPAIRMENT RELATED TO THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM

1. Table 1 presents the criteria for rating permanent impairment. The value of VO2 Max∗ less than 15 ml/(kg. min) is not a hard and fast criterion for severe impairment; a person may be considered severely impaired if 30% to 40% of his or her VO2 max is not sufficient to meet the VO2 costs of his or her occupational activity over an eight-hour period. Arterial blood gas determination may itself indicate severe impairment when an individual is stable and receiving optimal therapy. A person with a resting *PaO2 of less than 60mm Hg in room air may be deemed severely impaired if he or she has evidence of one or more of the secondary conditions related to arterial hypoxemia, such as pulmonary hypertension, cor pulmonale, increasingly severe hypoxemia during exercise testing, and erythrocytosis. A resting PaO2 of less than 50mm Hg in room air is by itself a criterion for severe impairment.

2 Predicted normal FVC values for men and women are found in Tables 2 and 3, respectively.

3. Predicted normal FEV1 Values for men and women are found in Tables 4 and 5, respectively.

4. Predicted normal Single Breath Dco values for men and women are found in Tables 6 and 7, respectively.

CRITERIA FOR EVALUATING IMPAIRMENT NOT DIRECTLY RELATED TO LUNG FUNCTION

Certain respiratory conditions may cause impairment that is not readily quantifiable by spirometry, diffusing capacity, or measured exercise testing. Table 8 highlights these conditions, with some general comments. The evaluation of impairments of persons with these conditions should be done by physicians with expertise in lung disease, and the final impairment should be left to the physician’s judgment.