Screening Pulmonary Function Tests

The role of the Pulmonary Function Laboratory has been expanded in recent years by the commercial development and marketing of equipment capable of measuring accurately and easily static lung volumes, diffusing capacity, and arterial blood gases. These sophisticated measurements, which were once the purview of research physiologists, are now readily attainable as screening measurements in most community hospitals. This review is intended not as a summary of the entire field or as a technical guide for performance of pulmonary function tests but as a survey of some clinical applications and pitfalls of screening tests and a statement of guidelines for their use. It is assumed that the reader already has some experience in ordering and interpreting routine spirograms and arterial blood gases