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Pulmonary Function Testing & Arterial Blood Gas Analysis |
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Pretest Instructions for PFT's |
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Plan to be in the testing area one hour.
Do not take any breathing medications for four hours prior to testing. (Ventolin,
albuterol, Proventil, Volmax, theophylline products, Maxair, Alupent, Serevent,
Foradil, Atrovent, Brethine, Bronkosol, Advair)
If you are short of breath and feel you need to use your inhaler or nebulizer,
then do so and notify the office.
Do not smoke for 2 hours at least prior to testing.
Bring your insurance cards and driver?s license for billing purposes.
If you cannot keep your appointment, please call and cancel as soon as
possible prior to your scheduled time.
Please be on time! |
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PFT Information |
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Pulmonary function testing is a series of breathing maneuvers designed to test how good lungs are functioning. There are four parts to a complete PFT. Not all of these four parts are performed on every patient. This is determined before hand by the physician based on the patient symptoms and knowledge of the patient?s medical history. A respiratory therapist usually administers the test. You will be asked to do several breathing activities such as blowing out as hard as possible; holding your breath for a short time; and intentional hyperventilation. All this is done with a mouthpiece to measure your breathing capacity and airflow rates. |
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Arterial Blood Gas Information |
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Arterial Blood Gas analysis is run on a sample of arterial blood usually taken from the wrist. The test measures the partial pressures of oxygen and carbon dioxide, the pH, and the percent of oxygen saturation of the blood. If desired, additional measures such as carbon monoxide levels can be obtained also.
A physician, a respiratory therapist, or a registered nurse usually performs the test. The test may be included as a part of the pulmonary function testing, or may be ordered as an individual test.
The test has a reputation of being potentially painful, however when performed by experienced personnel, the discomfort is usually minimal and short lived. |
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Thoracentesis |
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Thoracentesis is a procedure which removes abnormal fluid from the pleural space, the space between the lung and chest wall. It is performed by numbing up the skin and muscle over the fluid collection, and placing a needle or plastic sheath into the fluid. The fluid is then withdrawn using a syringe. The procedure can be used for diagnosis and for relieving symptoms caused by the abnormal fluid. |
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