Spirometry Test

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There are several important tests used by healthcare providers to determine whether an obstructive or restrictive lung disease is present. The term used to group these procedures is Pulmonary Function Tests, also called PFTs, and they do more than just determine the type of lung disease that may be present but can also provide answers as to where the problem is located as well. The term PFTs refers to a variation of different pulmonary testing that can be performed by healthcare professionals that help to give insight as to how well an individual's lungs are working. Some of these tests, such as spirometry and lung volumes provide this information by measuring airflow and lung capacity. Others such as diffusion capacity and the arterial blood …show more content…

During this test, clamps are placed on the nose of the participant to isolate the airflow being measured exclusively to and from the mouth. This test is then done usually two to three times to ensure the accuracy and the use of bronchodilators may be called upon with before and after tests to see if the use of medicine may be a viable solution. Upon reading the results of the spirometry test there are three key measurements, the FEV1, FVC and the FEV1/FVC ratio. The first measurement, forced expiratory volume 1 or FVC1, is the volume of air forcefully exhaled after one second of exhalation. This makes up the first portion of the forced vital capacity or FVC, which is the volume in liters of air …show more content…

Lastly, there is the FEV1/FVC ratio. This ratio represents the percent of the lung size (FVC) that can be measured in one second and is calculated by dividing the measured FEV1 by the measured FVC, then converted it to a percentage. If the FEV1/FVC ratio is less than 80%, this indicates that an obstructive pulmonary defect is present. Once it is verified that there is indeed a defect, this ratio can also be used to determine the severity of it. To get this reading, the FEV1 percentage is used. If this percentage is slightly above 80%, this could indicate minimal obstructive defect. If the percentage falls between 65-80%, it would be considered a mild defect, between 50-65% moderate and anything less than 50% would be considered severe (Baptist 1). Since these numbers are approximations, they also need to be interpreted in the appropriate predicted values chart, taking into account the height, age and weight of the patient receiving the test, in healthy adult males this ratio should fall somewhere between 70-80%. Upon taking a

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