Assessment of rehabilitation in children with infectious diseases of the lower respiratory tract using the categories of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Solving the issues of rehabilitation of children after lower respiratory tract infections requires putting up rehabilitation diagnoses in the categories of the International Classification of Functioning, Disabilities and Health (ICF). AIMS: The study aimed to define the key problems in the ICF categories and make quantitative and qualitative assessments of the changes in the ICF domains in convalescent children with infectious diseases of the lower respiratory tract at the outpatient stage and in one month after the disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The assessment of rehabilitation was performed using the ICF categories for 201 convalescent children with lower respiratory tract infections. RESULTS: Most of the patients had significant impairments in the following functions: b134 Sleep functions; b152 Emotional functions; b280 Feeling of pain; b440 Respiratory functions; b450 Additional respiratory functions; b455 Exercise tolerance function; b460 Sensations associated with cardiovascular and respiratory functions; b730 Muscle strength functions; b740 Muscular endurance functions; b780 Sensations associated with muscles and motor functions, both at the time of discharge from the hospital and a month after the discharge. Environmental factors (e115 Products and technologies for personal use in daily life; e225 Climate; e260 Air quality; e310 Close relatives; e355 Medical workers; e410 Relationships with immediate family members; e450 Relationships with medical workers; e580 Medical services; e585 Services in education and training) were shown to have an influence on rehabilitation process. CONCLUSION: The identified range of functioning disorders and the influence of environmental factors indicates the need for medical rehabilitation for convalescent children with lower respiratory tract infections. The rehabilitation should be multidisciplinary and involve psychological and pedagogical techniques, work with the family, and motor rehabilitation techniques to restore workload tolerance.