CARDIOPULMONARY EXERCISE TESTING - A VALU ABLE TECHNIQUE FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF INDIVIDUAL EXERCISE CAPACITY IN OCCUPATIONAL-MEDICINE

In various industrial tasks elevated physical strain of workers can be expected. In order to identify possible health hazards as soon as pos sible and to effectively prevent occupational diseases and accidents, a series of occupational health medical examinations are mandatory acc ording to German accident prevention regulations such as VBG 100 ''Occ upational Health Care'', Regulations for Climatic Conditions Undergrou nd (KlimaBergV), Regulations for Mine Rescue Teams, etc. Besides a cli nical medical inspection and a laboratory blood lest as well as urine test the physical fitness and aptitude for several specific occupation al hazards are tested by means of a mandatory ergometry test. In the p resent publication the possible predictive limits as well as the makin g sense or nonsense of the use of ergometry in occupational aptitude t ests under the auspices of German accident prevention regulations will be discussed.