Personification of the attributive effects of balneotherapy at Truskavets’ spa

Abstract

Background. It is generally accepted that the attributive effects of balneotherapy at the resort of Truskavets’ are diuretic, cholecystokinetic, urolitholytic, and bactericidal. However, these effects do not occur in all patients, that is, they manifest themselves only as a tendency. Standing on the positions of personification and predictability, we set ourselves the goal: first, to identify a number of options for the attributive effects of balneotherapy at the resort of Truskavets’, and secondly, to clarify the possibility of predicting one or another option. This article concerns the first stage of achieving the goal.

Materials and methods. Under an observations were 34 men and 10 women by age 24-76 years with chronic pyelonephritis and cholecystitis in the phase of remission. Testing was performed twice - on admission and after 7-10 days of standard balneotherapy (drinking of Naftussya bioactive water, applications of ozokerite, mineral pools). Daily diuresis and urine concentration of some components were determined with calculation of its lithogenicity, as well as indicators of cholecystokinetic activity and immunity with calculation of the bactericidal ability of blood neutrophils.

Results. In 10 patients (22.7%), a pronounced diuretic effect (D2+) was accompanied by a moderate cholecystokinetic effect (C+) and a moderate increase in bactericidal activity against E. coli (E+), but not Staph. aureus (A0) with a complete absence of changes in urine lithogenicity (L0). In 9 patients (20.5%), a moderate diuretic effect (D+) was accompanied by a pronounced cholecystokinetic effect (C2+) in combination with an increase in bactericidal activity against both E. coli (E+) and, to an even greater extent, Staph. aureus (A2+), while urine lithogenicity moderately increased (L+). A characteristic feature of the third cluster (8 patients, 18.2%) is a drastic cholecystokinetic effect (C3+) in combination with a moderate diuretic effect (D+) and a slight increase in urine lithogenicity (L+) and the absence of significant changes in bactericidal activity against both types of microbes (E0&A0). The fourth cluster has only 3 patients in whom balneotherapy drastically suppressed cholekinetics (C3-), but significantly increased bactericidal activity against both types of microbes (E2+&A2+) with uncertain changes in diuresis and a slight increase in urine lithogenicity (L+). The last cluster was the most numerous (14 patients, 31.8%), characterized by slight anticholecystokinetic and antilithogenic effects and a moderate increase in bactericidal activity against Staph. aureus (A+) in the absence of changes in diuresis and bactericidal activity against E. coli.

Conclusion. Overall, the attributive effects of balneotherapy can be interpreted as physiologically favorable or at least neutral.