RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
PHYSICAL DISABILITY BOARD OF REVIEW

NAME:  XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX	CASE:  PD-2017-02760
BRANCH OF SERVICE:  army	SEPARATION DATE:  20070404

SUMMARY OF CASE:  Data extracted from the available evidence of record reflects this covered individual (CI) was an active duty E4, Chemical Operations Specialist, medically separated from the Temporary Disability Retired List (TDRL) for “chronic asthma” with a disability rating of 10%.

CI CONTENTION:  Review all conditions.  The complete submission is at Exhibit A.

SCOPE OF REVIEW:  The panel’s scope of review is defined in DoDI 6040.44.  It is limited to review of disability ratings assigned to those conditions determined by the PEB to be unfitting for continued military service, and when specifically requested by the CI, those conditions identified by the Medical Evaluation Board (MEB), but determined by the Physical Evaluation Board (PEB) to be not unfitting or non-compensable.  Any conditions outside the panel’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.  The panel’s authority is limited to assessing the fairness and accuracy of PEB rating determinations and recommending corrections when appropriate.  The panel’s assessment of the PEB rating determination is based on review of medical records and all available evidence relevant to application of the Veterans Affairs Schedule for Rating Disabilities (VASRD) standards for the unfitting medical condition(s) at the time of separation.  The panel 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, which operates under a different set of laws.  The panel gives consideration to VA evidence, particularly within 12 months of separation, but only to the extent that it reasonably reflects the severity of disability at the time of separation.

RATING COMPARISON:

SERVICE PEB - 20070320	VARD – NA	
Condition	Code	Rating	Condition	Code	Rating	Exam	
Chronic Asthma	6602	10%	No VA Examination Proximate to Separation in Evidence	
COMBINED RATING:  10%	COMBINED RATING OF ALL VA CONDITIONS:  NA	

ANALYSIS SUMMARY:

Asthma.  According to the service treatment record (STR) and MEB narrative summary (NARSUM), the CI was initially treated in October 2003 for chest pain and shortness of breath, and after a thorough work-up, he was diagnosed with asthma.  He was separated and placed on TDRL on 9 March 2005.

During the 15 December 2006 TDRL examination (recorded on DD Forms 2807-1 and 2808), 4 months prior to TDRL removal, the CI listed albuterol as a current medication.  A memorandum to the PEB dated 13 March 2007 stated the MEB requested a medication profile on two occasions, but the CI failed to provide any documentation. 

At the 15 December 2006 MEB TDRL NARSUM re-examination, the CI reported his asthma was essentially unchanged with continued symptoms about every other day for which he used albuterol.  Pulmonary function testing (PFTs) showed an FEV-1 of 92% of predicted and an FEV-1/FVC of 85%.  The CI denied any emergency room treatment for asthma, and there was no STR evidence of asthma exacerbations frequent enough to require monthly visits to a physician.  Clinical encounters documenting the use of an oral or parenteral (injection) steroid for asthma were also absent during the year prior to separation.  There was no VA examination proximate to separation in evidence.

The panel directed attention to its rating recommendation based on the above evidence.  The PEB rated the asthma condition 10%, coded 6602 (asthma, bronchial), citing intermittent use of asthma medications.  A 10% rating stipulates “intermittent inhalational or oral bronchodilator therapy,” and panel members agreed that the PEB’s 10% rating was justified by the intermittent use of inhaled bronchodilator therapy reflected in the STR.  There was no PFT evidence to support the next higher 30% rating.  Likewise, a 30% rating was not justified in the absence of daily inhalational or oral bronchodilator therapy, or inhalational anti-inflammatory medication.  After due deliberation, considering all the evidence and mindful of VASRD §4.3 (reasonable doubt), the panel concluded that there was insufficient cause to recommend a change in the PEB adjudication for the asthma at the time of TDRL removal.

BOARD FINDINGS:  In the matter of the chronic asthma and IAW VASRD §4.97, the panel  recommends no change in the PEB adjudication at the time of TDRL removal.  There are no other conditions within the panel’s scope of review for consideration.  Therefore, the panel recommends 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 20170424, w/atchs
Exhibit B.  Service Treatment Record
Exhibit C.  Department of Veterans Affairs Record

AR20190008411, XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

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.