Diagnostic Tests for Respiratory Diseases

Lund diseases are composed of medical conditions that interfere with the proper functioning of the lungs. Common lung disease is chronic obstructive pulmonary disease COPD.  The use of pulmonary function tests the disease.  These tests measure amounts of air that one can inhale and exhale and whether the lungs are releasing enough oxygen in the blood. The most common pulmonary/ lung function test is spirometry. This test involves the patient blowing into a tube that connects to a spirometer. The test determines the amount of air that the lungs of the patient can hold and how fast the patient can blow out the air. This test is efficient because it can detect the disease even before the patient has symptoms of the disease. From the analysis, the physicians can be able to identify whether the condition is progressing or improving.  This diagnosis can get confirmed with other tests such as chest X-ray, CT- scan, Arterial blood gas analysis, and laboratory tests (Haroon, Jordan, Takwoingi, & Adab, 2015).

Pneumonia is a lung infection that makes the air sacs get filled with fluid. The best test to diagnose pneumonia is chest X-rays, where doctors take X-rays of the chest area. This test identifies the areas of the chest that are infected; it also shows the extent of the infection. A limitation of the test is it does not tell the type of germs that are causing the infection. Other tests used to confirm the diagnosis are sputum tests that can confirm the cause of the infection. Other tests used in the diagnosis of the disease are blood tests and pulse oximetry. If a patient is older than 65 years or has severe symptoms, they undergo additional tests that include a CT-scan, to get more lung images for analysis, and pleural fluid culture which determines the type of infection by testing fluid from the pleural area (Htun, Sun, Chua, & Pang, 2019).

References

Haroon, S., Jordan, R., Takwoingi, Y., & Adab, P. (2015). Diagnostic Accuracy of Screening Tests for COPD: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. BMJ Open. doi:10.1136/bmjoen-2015-008133

Htun, P., Sun, Y., Chua, H., & Pang, J. (2019). Clinical Features for Diagnosis of Pneumonia Among Adults in Primary Care Setting: A Systematic and Meta-Review. Scientific Reports. doi:10.1038/s41598-019-44145-y