COPD Tests, Treatments & Therapies at University of Colorado Hospital

Tests for COPD

Patient History and Physical Examination

Your doctor will ask questions about your health and will look for different COPD symptoms.

Pulmonary Function Tests

Pulmonary function tests may include:

Spirometry

A machine is used to measure airflow entering and leaving the lungs.

Postbronchodilator Spirometry

A spirometry test is repeated after you are giving a bronchodilator (an inhaled medication that opens the airways).

Peak Expiratory Flow Rate

A portable device that has a small tube with a gauge that measures the maximum force you use to blow air through the tube.

Lung Volume Tests

Lung volumes can be measured in two ways:

Gas Diluation

The patient inhales a gas, such as nitrogen or helium. The amount of volume in which the gas is distributed is used to calculate the amount of air the lungs can hold.

Body Plethysmography

The patient sits in an airtight chamber and inhales and exhales into a tube. The pressure changes are used to calculate the volume of air in the lungs.

Diffusion Capacity

The patient inhales a very small amount of carbon monoxide (this is very safe). How much is taken into the blood is measured.

Oximetry

Measures the amount of light transmitted through an area of the skin.

Arterial Blood Gases

Blood is drawn from an artery, and tested for a variety of measurements.

COPD Treatments

Currently, no treatments can prevent the long-term decrease in lung function caused by COPD. However, the right treatments can slow the disease’s progression, relieve symptoms and prevent complications.

Medications, including:

Bronchodilators – drugs that relax the muscles and open the air passages in the lungs; they can be inhaled or taken orally.

Corticosteroids – anti-inflammatory drugs that open the airways.

Antibiotics – used in special cases when a patient is experiencing a lung infection.

Oxygen therapy

Oxygen is mostly delivered through a nasal cannula.

Lung Volume Reduction Surgery

The upper portions of the diseased lungs are surgically removed.

Lung Transplantation

Sometimes used as an option for severe cases.

COPD Therapies

Pulmonary rehabilitation

A program is designed using exercises for the lower and upper extremities, education, breathing retraining, and psychosocial support.

Nutritional support

A nutritionist works to develop a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet for patients who lose a lot of weight.