Medical Hydrology and Balneology: Environmental Aspects

Techirghiol balneal and rehabilitation
sanatorium - statistical analysis of pathology
types on admitted patients
Profir D (1) , Marin V (1) , Surdu O (1-2) , Demirgian S (1) , Ionescu EV (1)
(1) Balneal and Rehabilitation SanatoriumTechirghiol. Romania
(2) Department of Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine. University Ovidius Constanta. Romania
profir_daniela@yahoo.com
Introduction and Objectives
Balneal and Rehabilitation Sanatorium is situated on the shore of Techirghiol
Lake, 3 km away from the Black Sea. The sanatorium gained its fame over the
years, due to the great number of Romanian and foreign patients treated here with
natural cure factors – salted water of the lake and sapropelic mud extracted from the
lake. Most of the inpatients are admitted in the sanatorium on a basis of state medical
insurance system, only a small number come by direct payment.
Aim: to analyze the type of pathology; to determine addressability degree of patients
with different diseases; to evaluate periodic return of patients.
Materials and Methods
The study is still ongoing up to 30th of April 2012. Until now over 6000 patients
were registered. The patients were admitted for a period of 12 days up to 30 days
and received complex rehabilitation treatment: hydro-kinetic-therapy in the salted
water of the pool, alternative with warm mud baths or hot mud wrapping, massage,
electrotherapy, kinetotherapy. All patients underwent an initial clinical examination
and then the physician filled up a questionnaire, which includes some personal data,
information about the disease requiring admission (predominant symptom, main
symptom location, stress level, physical activity at home, person who recommended
balneal cure), if the patient has in the medical history balneal treatment and what
were the results, and finally the group of affections in which fit the existing symptoms.
Data from the questionnaires were statistically processed and plotted. The
used questionnaire was conceived by a group of physicians from the sanatorium.
Results
Among all pathology types the most frequent is osteoarthritis, followed closely
by neurological diseases (mainly lumbar and cervical slipped disc associated with
radiculitis). The most affected segment by degenerative rheumatic process is the
spine, followed by weight bearing joints (knees). Age of onset in patients with
osteoarthritis is decreasing continuously.
Balnea
2012, núm. 6, 141-142
141
ISBN: 978-84-669-1887-0
978-84-669-3482-4