Lung Disorders Special Report
Laboratory Tests to Diagnose Lung Disease
Johns Hopkins Health Alerts Lung Disorders Laboratory Tests for Lung Disease
If you are experiencing symptoms related to a lung disease you will first need to provide a medical history and undergo a physical examination. Your doctor may then recommend other tests that can provide complementary.
Routine blood tests may show a low hemoglobin level (anemia), which might help explain a patient’s shortness of breath or suggest a chronic condition (such as lung cancer). An elevated hemoglobin level might suggest that the body is compensating for chronically low oxygen levels. Elevated white blood cell counts might suggest lung infection or noninfectious inflammatory disease.
Blood chemistry measurements reflecting the function of organs (such as the liver or kidney) or specialized tests for rheumatic disease might clarify widespread disease that also involves the lung. Samples of phlegm, when examined in a timely way by a laboratory, may reveal organisms causing lung infection or, in people with lung cancer, malignant (cancerous) cells.
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Medical Disclaimer: This information is not intended to substitute for the advice of a physician. Click here for additional information: Johns Hopkins Health Alerts Disclaimer
Posted in Lung Disorders on February 7, 2006
