RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
PHYSICAL DISABILITY BOARD OF REVIEW

NAME:  XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX	CASE:  PD-2015-01467
BRANCH OF SERVICE:  Army 	SEPARATION DATE:  20050512

SUMMARY OF CASE:  Data extracted from the available evidence of record reflects that this covered individual (CI) was an active duty E3, Chaplain Assistant, medically separated from the Temporary Disability Retired List (TDRL) for “asthma” with a disability rating of 10%.  

CI CONTENTION:  The CI made no specific contention.  The complete submission is at Exhibit A.  

SCOPE OF REVIEW:  The Board’s scope of review is defined in DoDI 6040.44.  It is limited to those conditions determined by the Physical Evaluation Board (PEB) to be unfitting for continued military service and when specifically requested by the CI, those conditions identified by the PEB, but determined to be not unfitting.  Any conditions outside the Board’s defined scope of review and any contention not requested in this application may remain eligible for future consideration by the Board for Correction of Military Records.  Furthermore, the Board’s authority is limited to assessing the fairness and accuracy of PEB rating determinations and recommending corrections, where appropriate.  The Board’s assessment of the PEB rating determinations is based on review of medical records and all available evidence for application of the Veterans Affairs Schedule for Rating Disabilities (VASRD) standards to the unfitting medical condition at the time of separation.  The Board has neither the role nor the authority to compensate for post-separation progression or complications of service-connected conditions.  That role and authority is granted by Congress to the Department of Veterans Affairs, operating under a different set of laws.  The Board gives consideration to VA evidence, particularly within 12 months of separation, but only to the extent that it reasonably reflects the severity of the disability at the time of separation.  

RATING COMPARISON:  

SERVICE PEB – 20050318/20050414	VARD – NA	
Condition	Code	Rating	Condition	Code	Rating
Proximate	
		TDRL
Placement	TDRL Removal			TDRL
Placement	TDRL
Removal	
Asthma	6602	30%	10%	No VA Claim	
COMBINED RATING:  30% → 10%	COMBINED RATING OF ALL VA CONDITIONS:  NA	

Asthma.  According to service treatment records (STR) and the Medical Evaluation Board (MEB) narrative summary (NARSUM), the CI was evaluated in September 2003 for a recent history of recurrent (sneezing, itchiness of the nose, nasal congestion with clear rhinorrhea, and nocturnal nasal obstruction).  A diagnosis of asthma was made based on pulmonary function testing (PFT) and clinical presentation and a trial of oral bronchodilators (Singular) was prescribed on a daily basis.  Despite treatment, the asthma condition could not be adequately rehabilitated to meet the physical requirements of the CI’s military specialty and the CI was referred for MEB.  The MEB forwarded “asthma” for PEB adjudication.  

During the March 2005, MEB examination (recorded on DD Forms 2807 and 2808 13 months prior to separation, the CI reported taking Singular, Maxair, Advair, and Allegra.  Review of the STR showed four separate clinical encounters in evidence documenting the use of an oral or parenteral steroid for asthma during the year prior to separation. There was no evidence in the STR that asthma exacerbations were frequent enough to require monthly visits to a physician. The CI was placed on the TDRL on 18 March 2005.  During the examination for removal from the TDRL dated 8 February 2006, 3 months prior to separation, the CI reported taking Albuterol on an as needed basis.  She reported she used the albuterol 1-2 times/day typically in the morning.  She was not using a peak flow meter and spirometry was recorded as normal.  

The Board directed attention to its rating recommendation based on the above evidence.  The PEB, at removal from the TDRL, rated the asthma condition 10%, coded 6602, citing intermittent use of inhaler.  A 10% rating stipulates “intermittent inhalational or oral bronchodilator therapy.”  Board members agreed that the PEB’s 10% rating at TDRL removal, was justified by the intermittent use of inhaled bronchodilator therapy reflected in the TDRL evaluation.  A 10% rating was also justified by the FEV-1/FVC of 78 percent noted by the TDRL examination.  After due deliberation, considering all of the evidence and mindful of VASRD §4.3 (reasonable doubt), the Board concluded that there was insufficient cause to recommend a change in the PEB adjudication for the asthma condition.

BOARD FINDINGS:  In the matter of the asthma condition and IAW VASRD §4.71a, the Board unanimously recommends no change in the PEB adjudication.  There were no other conditions within the Board’s scope of review for consideration.  The Board, therefore, recommends that there be no modification or re-characterization of the CI’s disability and separation determination.  

The following documentary evidence was considered:

Exhibit A.  DD Form 294, dated 20150617, w/atchs
Exhibit B.  Service Treatment Record
Exhibit C.  Department of Veterans Affairs Treatment Record

AR20170006600, XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 

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Dear XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX:

	The Department of Defense Physical Disability Board of Review (DoD PDBR) reviewed your application and found your separation disability rating and your separation from the Army for disability with severance pay to be accurate.  I have reviewed the Board’s recommendation and record of proceedings (copy enclosed), and I accept its recommendation.  I regret to inform you that your application to the DoD PDBR is denied.  

	This decision is final.  Recourse within the Department of Defense or the Department of the Army is exhausted; however, you have the option to seek relief by filing suit in a court of appropriate jurisdiction.

Sincerely,					       
						      					
Enclosure