Pulmonary Disease and Critical Care Associates, PA
Listed here are the procedures that the practice performs. Click on the procedure to find out more about it.
What is a Pulmonary Function Test (PFT)?
Thoracentesis (THOR-a-sen-TE-sis) is a procedure to remove excess fluid in the space between the lungs and the chest wall. This space is called the pleural space.
Normally, the pleural space is filled with a small amount of fluid—about 4 teaspoons full. But some conditions, such as heart failure, lung infections, and tumors, can cause more fluid to build up. When this happens, it’s called a pleural effusion. A lot of extra fluid can press on the lungs, making it hard to breathe.
In a pleural biopsy, a small piece of pleural tissue in the chest
is removed with a needle. The biopsy may distinguish between a
cancerous and noncancerous disease. It also can help to detect
whether a viral, fungal or parasitic disease is present
Bronchoscopy is a diagnostic procedure in which a tube with a tiny camera on the end is inserted through the nose or mouth into the lungs. The procedure provides a view of the airways of the lung and allows doctors to collect lung secretions or tissue specimens (biopsy).
Pulmonary function tests are a broad range of tests that are usually done in a health care provider's office or a specialized facility. They measure how well the lungs take in and exhale air and how efficiently they transfer oxygen into the blood.
Spirometry measures how well the lungs exhale. The information gathered during this test is useful in diagnosing certain types of lung disorders, but is most useful when assessing for obstructive lung diseases (especially asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, COPD).
Lung volume measurement detects restrictive lung diseases. In this set of diseases, a person cannot inhale a normal volume of air. Restrictive lung diseases may be caused by inflammation or scarring of the lung tissue (interstitial lung disease) or by abnormalities of the muscles or skeleton of the chest wall.
Testing the diffusion capacity (also called the DLCO) permits an estimate of how efficiently the lungs transfer oxygen from the air into the bloodstream.