RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS PHYSICAL DISABILITY BOARD OF REVIEW
NAME:  XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX	CASE: PD-2017-06138
BRANCH OF SERVICE: ARMY	SEPARATION DATE: 20060526

SUMMARY OF CASE: Data extracted from the available evidence of record reflects this covered individual (CI) was an active duty O3, Aviation Combined Arms Operations Officer, medically separated from the Temporary Disability Retired List (TDRL) for “Crohn’s disease” with a disability rating of 10%.

CI CONTENTION: The CI continues to have GI symptoms requiring further treatment. 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 Physical Evaluation Board (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 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 FPEB - 20060424	VARD – N/A	
Condition	Code	Rating	Condition	Code	Rating	Exam	
Crohn’s Disease	7399-7323	10%	No VA Examination Proximal to Separation	
COMBINED RATING: 10%	COMBINED RATING OF ALL VA CONDITIONS: N/A	

ANALYSIS SUMMARY:

Crohn’s Disease. According to the service treatment record (STR) and MEB narrative summary (NARSUM), the CI was separated and placed on the TDRL on 1 September 2003 for Crohn’s disease. Barium enema showed a smooth mid descending colon consistent with a stricture. The 30 November 2005 MEB NARSUM examination, 6 months prior to TDRL removal, noted the condition had not changed significantly since the last examination at Walter Reed Medical Center in 2003. She had no further hospitalizations since 2003, but had intermittent problems with abdominal cramping and bloating associated with a known stricture in her colon. She was doing

fairly well with mercaptopurine and routine remicade infusions every 8 weeks. Without the remicade, the CI did poorly and developed intermittent bouts of abdominal cramping, diarrhea and constipation due to her colonic stricture. Physical examination was essentially normal. A diagnosis of colonic Crohn’s disease with a colonic stricture was rendered. 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 Crohn’s disease 10%, analogously coded 7399-7323 (ulcerative colitis), citing no frequent incapacitating exacerbations. The NARSUM examination, dated 6 months prior to TDRL removal, noted the CI was doing well when she took her medication (infusions every 8 weeks). There was no evidence of a moderately severe condition with frequent exacerbations. After due deliberation, considering all the evidence and mindful of VASRD §4.3 (reasonable doubt), the panel concluded there was insufficient cause to recommend a change in the PEB adjudication for the Crohn’s disease.

BOARD FINDINGS: In the matter of the Crohn’s disease and IAW VASRD §4.124, the panel recommends no change in the PEB adjudication. 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.

PD-2017-06138

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 

Dear XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

	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.

PD-2017-06138

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