[The rehabilitation under alpine conditions of the participants in the cleanup of the accident at the Chernobyl Atomic Electric Power Station who are ill with chronic bronchitis]. / Reabilitatsiia v usloviiakh vysokogor'ia uchastnikov likvidatsii avarii na Chernobyl'skoi AES, bol'nykh khronicheskim bronkhitom.

ABSTRACT

24 patients exposed to low-dose radiation after the Chernobyl accident were examined before and after 24-day treatment of chronic bronchitis in the high-altitude rehabilitation center (3200 m above the sea level) in Tien Shan. Sanogenic alpine climate improved the patients' general condition, physical performance and lung ventilation, corrected compromised immunity. After high-altitude adaptation tracheobronchial inflammation alleviated, cytologic composition and surface activity of bronchoalveolar fluid returned to normal. Therefore, high-altitude treatment of Chernobyl accident victims with chronic bronchitis is effective and can be recommended for such patients.