Diagnostic Tests for Emphysema
Diagnostic tests for Emphysema:
A diagnosis of emphysema is made only after a complete evaluation, and history and physical is done by a health care professional. This will help to determine the type and severity of emphysema you have and the most appropriate and effective treatment plan for you. An important question your health care provider will ask is how much you have smoked in your lifetime and your exposure to lung irritants. It is very important to answer these questions as accurately as possible.
Diagnostic testing can include lung function tests, such as a spirometry, which measures how much air you are able to move in and out of your lungs. This easy, painless, and noninvasive breathing test is often done regularly to monitor how well treatments are working. A chest X-ray and CT scan of the chest may be done, which can evaluate a number of factors, including the presence of other conditions that may occur with or exacerbate (worsen) emphysema, such as pneumonia and congestive heart failure. An arterial blood gas test is a sample of blood taken from an artery with a needle that measures many parameters of effective breathing, including the oxygen level in your blood.
An alpha-1 antitrypsin (ATT) concentration may be ordered to help diagnose a less common form of emphysema that is hereditary. In this condition, some people are born without an important protein that protects the lungs.
Emphysema Tests: Book Excerpts
Home Diagnostic Testing
These home medical tests may be relevant to Emphysema:
- Smoking-Related Disorders: Home Testing:
- Lung & Respiratory Health Tests:
- Cold & Flu: Home Testing:
Emphysema Diagnosis: Book Excerpts
Diagnosis of Emphysema: medical news summaries:
The following medical news items
are relevant to diagnosis of Emphysema:
Diagnostic Tests for Emphysema: Online Medical Books
16 MEDICAL BOOKS ONLINE!
Review excerpts from medical books online, free, without registration,
for more information about the diagnostic tests for Emphysema.
Crepitation, subcutaneous [Subcutaneous crepitus, subcutaneous emphysema]:
History and physical examination
(Handbook of Signs & Symptoms (Third Edition))
Because subcutaneous crepitation can indicate a life-threatening disorder, you'll need to perform a rapid initial evaluation and intervene if necessary. (See Managing subcutaneous crepitation, page 178.)
When the patient's condition permits, palpate the affected skin to evaluate the location and extent of subcutaneous crepitation and to obtain baseline information. Delineate the borders of the area of crepitus with a marker. Palpate the area frequently to determine if the subcutaneous crepitation is increasing. Ask the patient if he's experiencing pain or having difficulty breathing. If he's in pain, find out where the pain is located, how severe it is, and when it began. Ask about recent thoracic surgery, diagnostic tests, and respiratory therapy or a history of trauma or chronic pulmonary disease.
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Handbook of Signs & Symptoms (Third Edition), 2006
Crepitation, subcutaneous [Subcutaneous crepitus, subcutaneous emphysema]:
History and physical examination
(Professional Guide to Signs & Symptoms (Fifth Edition))
Because subcutaneous crepitation can indicate a life-threatening disorder, you’ll need to perform a rapid initial evaluation and intervene if necessary. (See Managing subcutaneous crepitation.)
When the patient’s condition permits, palpate the affected skin to evaluate the location and extent of subcutaneous crepitation and to obtain baseline information. Repalpate frequently to determine if the crepitation is increasing. Ask the patient if he’s experiencing any pain or having difficulty breathing. If he’s in pain, find out where the pain is located, how severe it is, and when it began. Ask about recent thoracic surgery, diagnostic tests, and respiratory therapy or a history of trauma or chronic pulmonary disease.
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Professional Guide to Signs & Symptoms (Fifth Edition), 2006
Crepitation, subcutaneous [Subcutaneous crepitus, subcutaneous emphysema]:
History and physical examination
(Nursing: Interpreting Signs and Symptoms)
Because subcutaneous crepitation can indicate a life-threatening disorder, you'll need to perform a rapid initial evaluation and intervene if necessary. (See Managing subcutaneous crepitation.)
When the patient's condition permits, palpate the affected skin to evaluate the location and extent of subcutaneous crepitation and to obtain baseline information. Delineate the borders of the area of crepitus with a marker. Palpate the area frequently to determine if the subcutaneous crepitation is increasing. Ask the patient if he's experiencing pain or having difficulty breathing. If he's in pain, find out where the pain is located, how severe it is, and when it began. Ask about recent thoracic surgery, diagnostic tests, and respiratory therapy or a history of trauma or chronic pulmonary disease.
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Nursing: Interpreting Signs and Symptoms, 2007
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