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Pulmonary Lung Function Test



 Submitted by Nic on August 13, 2011
A pulmonary lung function test is a lung function test that evaluates how well your lungs work. Your doctor may recommend such a pulmonary lung function test to determine how much air your lungs can hold, how well your lungs taken in oxygen and remove carbon dioxide from your blood and to see how quickly the process of respiration takes place. Such a lung function test may also be used to determine a person’s lung function before surgery. Pulmonary lung function test results can help in the diagnosis of lung diseases (such as asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease – COPD), to see how severe the problem is as well as check how well treatment for a lung disease is working. Abnormal pulmonary function tests results will reveal that there is a problem with your lungs.

The first and most commonly conducted pulmonary lung function test is known as Spirometry. Your doctor may recommend this test if he suspects you have asthma. This test measures how quickly and how much air you can move in and out of your lungs. You will be asked to breathe into a spirometer, which is a recording device. The information which the spirometer collects is then printed out onto a spirogram. The spirometer will record the amount and the rate of air that you inhale and exhale over a period of time. Since the test involves some rapid breathing and forced breathing, you may have some lightheadedness or shortness of breath. This is only temporary. There is no risk associated with this test. The most common lung functions that are measured with this test include:-

Forced vital capacity (FVC)
Forced expiratory volume (FEV)
Forced expiratory flow 25% to 75%
Peak expiratory flow (PEF).
Total lung capacity (TLC).
Functional residual capacity (FRC).
Maximum voluntary ventilation (MVV).
Slow vital capacity (SVC).
Expiratory reserve volume (ERV).
Residual volume (RV).

There are other pulmonary lung function tests that you also have to undergo. These include gas diffusion tests, arterial blood gases, total lung capacity (TLC), Residual volume (RV), multiple breath washout test, Carbon monoxide diffusing capacity, Inhalation challenge tests and Body plethysmography. The testing may take anywhere from 5-30 minutes depending on how many tests are carried out.

Keep in mind that test results will be adjusted according to your age, sex, height and weight as well. Most test results will be available right after the test and be given to you right away.
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