Tests to determine

Lung Function

Pulmonary function tests are a group of non-invasive medical tests that measure different components of lung function, such as how well the lungs take in and release air, and how well the lungs move gases from the air into the circulatory system.

Your health care provider may recommend that you undergo pulmonary function testing to help with diagnosis or management of lung conditions such as asthma, bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), emphysema, fibrosis, and lung cancer.

Breathing test

Who Can You See for Diagnosis and Treatment Advice?

At Glencoe Regional Health, providers in our family medicine, internal medicine, and pulmonology departments may order pulmonary function testing.

What Can You Expect During Pulmonary Function Testing?

Respiratory therapists at Glencoe Regional Health perform a variety of pulmonary function tests, including:

  • Spirometry: This test is used to establish a baseline or lung function, evaluate shortness of breath, detect pulmonary disease and evaluate for operative risk.
  • Spirometry with bronchodilator: This test is used to monitor the effects of certain medications used to treat respiratory disease, establish a baseline of lung function, evaluate shortness of breath, detect pulmonary disease and evaluate for operative risk.
  • Bronchial challenge with methacholine: This test is used to diagnose or confirm a diagnosis of asthma and document the severity of spasms in the small airways.
  • Complete pulmonary function test with bronchodilator, including diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide (DLCO): This test is used to measure the transfer of carbon monoxide molecules from the lungs to the circulatory system. This test is typically ordered for diseases affecting the area around the lung’s air sacs, pulmonary involvement in other systemic diseases, obstructive lung disease, cardiovascular diseases, bleeding in the lungs, increased hemoglobin in the blood, and drug-induced lung injury.