Pulmonary Function Testing Essentials

Get off to a running start. Here, you’ll cover the historical basis of pulmonary function testing, and the principal tests used in the assessment of known or suspected lung disease.

In this chapter, you’ll review important techniques used in measuring various aspects of lung function, including airflow, lung volumes, and changes in lung volumes.

Understand the static mechanical properties of the respiratory system. In this chapter, you’ll go deep into the relationship between volume and pressure at times of no airflow.

Here, you’ll concentrate on the relationships between pressure, flow, and volume during inspiration and expiration, and how to use these measurements to detect disease.

In this chapter, you’ll learn how to use various challenge tests to detect subtle disorders of respiratory function, such as cough-variant asthma or exercise-induced asthma.

Take the road less travelled. Learn about less commonly used tests that can help you detect subtle disorders of respiratory function, such as disease isolated to the small airways.

Here, you’ll learn how to analyze factors that determine the efficiency of gas transfer, particularly oxygen, across the alveolar-capillary membrane, and the test methods used.

Learn how to use additional pulmonary function tests, such as (HAST), the six-minute walk test, and testing respiratory responses to high carbon dioxide / low oxygen levels.

Here, you’ll learn how to interpret patterns of pulmonary function test abnormalities, and cover important guidelines issued by American and European professional societies.

Breathe a sigh of relief as you finish off strong. Wrap up the course with a recommended algorithm, and clinical cases where you can practice your interpretation skills.