Medical Specialties :: Pneumonology

Pneumologists at HCIH evaluate, diagnose and treat breathing disorders and lung disease. We offer diagnostic and treatment services for lung problems, including comprehensive evaluations of:

Shortness of breath
Chronic cough
Haemoptysis (coughing up blood)
Abnormal chest X-rays
Outpatient Hospitals for evaluation and treatment of various lung conditions
Sleep disorders evaluation and treatment
Access to various diagnostic and treatment protocols
Pulmonary Function Laboratory
Lung Cancer
Broncoscophy

Lung function tests

Lung function tests may include one or more of the following tests.

Spirometry

This noninvasive test measures how well you breathe.

During spirometry, you take deep breaths and forcefully exhale into a hose connected to a machine called a spirometer.

Spirometry testing reveals two measurements that are important in diagnosing asthma:
Forced vital capacity (FVC), which is the maximum amount of air you can inhale and exhale.
Forced expiratory volume (FEV-1), which is the maximum amount of air you can exhale in one second.

Your doctor will compare these two measurements. If certain key measurements are below normal for a person your age, it may be a sign that your airways are obstructed. Your doctor may ask you to inhale a bronchodilator drug used in asthma treatment to open obstructed air passages and then try the test again. If your measurements improve significantly, it's likely that you have asthma. Your doctor may still suspect that you have asthma even if your initial spirometry measurements are normal. If so, you may need additional tests.

Challenge test

During this test, your doctor deliberately tries to trigger airway obstruction and asthma symptoms by having you inhale an airway-constricting substance or take several breaths of cold air. If you appear to have exercise-induced asthma, you may be asked to do vigorous physical activity to trigger symptoms.

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