Emphysema and chronic bronchitis are the two diseases that make up chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the main cause of which is smoking. Treatment may slow the progression, but cannot reverse the damage.
The main symptom of this disease is shortness of breath , especially during exercise , which becomes more severe in the long run.
There is usually a history of smoking. However, environmental and occupational stimuli at work or home and congenital tendency to emphysema can cause this disease in non-smokers.
People with emphysema usually breathe abnormally fast to keep their blood oxygen levels at normal levels, often causing their skin to turn pink.
A chest photograph of a patient with emphysema shows swollen lungs.
Spectrometry usually shows airway obstruction, which does not improve much after using a bronchodilator. Even if a short-term steroid product is also used. Another symptom of emphysema is a decrease in the oxygen level of the patient’s arterial blood during exercise.
A breathing test called “diffusion capacity” helps diagnose emphysema.
The pulmonary diffusion capacity test measures the rate of gas exchange in the lungs. This is an important part of the lung test, because the main function of the lungs is to release oxygen or transfer it to the blood from the lungs, and on the other hand, transfer carbon dioxide from the blood to the lungs and remove it from the body. How is the test done? The air you inhale (exhaled air) contains a tracer gas called carbon monoxide. Hold your breath for 10 seconds and then exhale. Exhaled gas is measured and tested to determine the amount of tracer gas absorbed during breathing.
