Anyone who has ever struggled to catch their breath, whether due to asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), or other illness or injury, can tell you — the fear of not knowing what is wrong can be frightening.
Fortunately, there are noninvasive tests available, right here in our community, that can help you and your care team determine the cause of your breathing problems and get you started on the path toward treatment.
Pulmonary function tests (also known as PFTs) are tests that show how well the lungs are working. This information is typically used to diagnose certain lung disorders.
“Pulmonary function tests study in various ways how well the lungs exchange air, how well the lungs are able to absorb oxygen into the blood, and how the lungs perform during exercise,” explains Dr. John Lace, pulmonary, critical care, and sleep specialist at Dignity Health — Sierra Nevada Medical Group. “They are safe and noninvasive.”
Dr. Lace points out that for some tests, blood is drawn from the radial artery in the wrist for an arterial blood gas that can then show how well the patient is processing carbon dioxide and oxygen.
There are many different reasons why pulmonary function tests may be done. They are sometimes done on healthy people as part of a routine physical. They may also be included in physicals for people working in certain types of work environments to ensure employee health.
Most commonly, though, they are used to help diagnose health problems, including allergies, respiratory infections, chronic lung conditions and restrictive airway problems.
“PFTs are used to evaluate patients with symptoms such as shortness of breath, cough, chest tightness or wheezing,” Dr. Lace says. “They are useful sometimes in people who smoke or have smoked cigarettes. They are used for preoperative evaluation of certain patients who are undergoing surgery. These would include patients undergoing heart or lung surgery, or patients who have preexisting lung disease who are undergoing other types of surgery.”
For pulmonologists like Dr. Lace, a pulmonary function test is just one tool in their diagnostic tool belt.
“I learned from my mentors to start with a medical history, then do a careful physical examination, and then choose wisely from the available tests,” Dr. Lace explains. “Evaluation of lung problems includes pulmonary function testing, and can include imaging such as a chest X-ray, or a CT of the chest, with or without intravenous contrast dye. Sometimes the evaluation includes cardiac testing such as EKG, stress testing or echocardiography.”
If a pulmonary function test result is abnormal, there are a variety of next steps that can be taken, depending on the patient’s unique symptoms and needs.
“Of course, there are many reasons why a lung function test could be abnormal,” Dr. Lace says. “In many cases the primary care physician can choose what other tests, medications or treatments would be valuable. In certain cases, referral to a pulmonologist (such as myself) would be recommended.”
For anyone locally in need of a pulmonary function test, look no further than your community hospital, Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital. While the SNMH PFT lab had to shut down during the worst of the pandemic, it is open now.
“Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital again has a fully functioning PFT laboratory,” Dr. Lace says. “Jessica Davis, RCP, is our lead respiratory care practitioner providing testing and she is doing a wonderful job.”
For more information on whether you may need a pulmonary function test, talk to your doctor.
For More Information: Dr. John Lace
Dr. John Lace closed his private practice earlier this year and has been seeing patients two days a week at Dignity Health — Sierra Nevada Medical Group since mid-July.
Patients who have seen Dr. Lace within the past couple of years may call the clinic directly to schedule a follow-up appointment. Patients who have not seen him in the past couple of years should obtain a new referral from their primary care or other provider.
Dignity Health — Sierra Nevada Medical Group
280 Sierra College Drive, Suite 105
For urgent problems, please check with your primary care provider, and for emergencies, go to the ER.
