Citation Nr: 21071036 Decision Date: 11/29/21 Archive Date: 11/29/21 DOCKET NO. 13-10 311 DATE: November 29, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to an initial compensable rating for chronic bronchitis is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from April 1965 to April 1969. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a December 2015 rating decision of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The Board previously remanded this appeal for further development, including scheduling a VA examination, in August 2018 and May 2021. The case has returned to the Board for further appellate review. Unfortunately, there has not been substantial compliance with the Board's previous remand directives. Another remand is required. See Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268, 271 (1998). Entitlement to an initial compensable rating for chronic bronchitis is remanded. Despite the additional and regrettable delay, a remand is required because there was not substantial compliance with the Board's May 2021 remand directives that requested the respiratory examination to be scheduled during an active period/flare-up. See Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268 (1998). Specifically, the July 2021 VA respiratory examination report does not mention if the respiratory examination was executed during an active period/flare-up of the Veteran's service-connected bronchitis. In addition, the Veteran's service-connected bronchitis has been evaluated per Diagnostic Code 6600, which instructs that the results of three pulmonary function tests (PFTs), namely the forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV-1), the FEV-1/forced vital capacity (FVC), and the diffusion capacity of carbon monoxide, single breath (DLCO (SB), be used to determine the appropriate rating. However, as the PFTs recorded in conjunction with the Veteran's July 2021 VA respiratory examination do not include the results of DLCO (SB) testing, the clinical data is incomplete. Accordingly, a new VA respiratory examination, during which complete PFT results are recorded, must be obtained. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Schedule the Veteran for an examination to determine the current severity of his service-connected bronchitis. To the extent possible, the Veteran should be scheduled for a respiratory examination during an active period/flare-up of his service-connected bronchitis. If it is not possible to schedule the Veteran for a VA examination during a period of flare-up, the examiner should include discussion of the Veteran's symptoms during a period of flare-up, to include the frequency and duration of flare-ups. The examiner should provide a full description of the disability and report all signs and symptoms necessary for evaluating the Veteran's disability under the rating criteria, to include the results of all three required pulmonary function tests, namely FEV-1, FEV-1/FVC, and DLCO (SB). Rebecca N. Poulson Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Romero-Sanchez, Emma J. The Board's decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.