Other Services
Complete Pulmonary Function Test
Used to diagnose lung disease

Many people experience lung disorders and diseases. At St. Rita's Medical Center, we offer the complete pulmonary function test to help determine what a patient might be suffering from. These tests may be ordered individually at the physician's discretion. A complete pulmonary function test includes: spirometry (to measure peak expiratory flow rates), DLCO (to measure diffusion capacity) and lung volumes.

What You Should Know
Patients should arrive 30 minutes before the scheduled test and check in with St. Rita's Outpatient Registration. This area is located on the first floor of the Medical Center behind the Information Desk in the main lobby.

  • Do Not Use the Following Inhalers for at Least Four to Six Hours Before the Test:
    • Albuterol
    • Proventil
    • Ventolin
    • Alupent
    • Maxair
    • Brethaire
    • Atrovent
    • Combivent
  • Do Not Use Serevent or Advair Inhalers for at Least 12 Hours Before the Test. (If you are unable to go this amount of time without your inhaler, please make a note of the last time you
    used it.)
  • No Caffeine (Coffee, Cola, Tea or Chocolate) for at Least Six Hours Before the Test
  • No Smoking or Alcohol the Day of the Test
  • You May Eat a Light Meal Before the Test if You Choose
  • Avoid Cold Air Exposure and Exercise if Possible
During the Test
This test takes approximately one hour. During this time, you will be sitting inside a booth. The technologist will instruct and demonstrate various breathing maneuvers for you to repeat. For each maneuver, you will have snug fitting clips on your nose and will breath through a mouthpiece. The technologist may have the patient repeat each maneuver several times. For your comfort, the mouthpiece and nose clips can be removed between each breathing attempt.

A specially trained physician will interpret the test within 24 hours and send the results to the referring physician.

For More Information
(419) 226-9169
Map & Directions Map & Directions

Scheduling:
The complete pulmonary function test must be ordered by a physician. To schedule an appointment, contact
St. Rita’s Central Scheduling at
(419) 226-9056 Monday through Friday from
8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Appointment times are available Monday through Friday from 6:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

 

Did You Know:
Huffers and Puffers is a support group for persons with breathing disorders. To learn more about this support group, please contact the American Lung Association at
(419) 663-LUNG (5864) or St. Rita’s Medical Center at
(419) 226-9674.