Emphysema Diagnosis and Investigation For Doctors

Important Information for Doctor to Diagnose Emphysema

For diagnosis of pulmonary emphysema is important the detailed questioning by physician doctor. Play alongside the complaints, the smoking habits play a role. Some important informations for your emphysema doctor :

Do you cough, and especially if so, how often and at what time?
Do you have discharge? Try to describe quantity, strength and color.
How strong are you? For example, you can climb stairs to a floor with no breaks? Which route you can accomplish in the level without getting out of breath too?
When you have shortness of breath : at rest, during exercise, with infection?
How often leads to respiratory distress and a decrease in the current performance?
Please check your weight change or not.

Further Emphysema Investigation

During physical investigation in emphysema, the following changes can show up :
- Barrel chest (barrel thorax) as indications lung over blowing lung,
- Bluish lips and finger discoloured as indication of oxygen deficiency;
- Swollen legs or bulging neck veins clearly a sign of right heart failure.

When hearing to the lungs, for example, the emphysema doctors hears a rattling, humming or whistling. The breath sounds are diminished, the percussion of the lungs loud and hollow-sounding. The emphysema patients breathe with sharpened mouth out (lip brake).

In X-ray examination shows a flattened diaphragm, and an increased X-ray transparency (the picture is darker). A high-resolution CT scan can display well in the early stages of emphysema. The ECG (electro cardiogram) is altered in advanced pulmonary emphysema with cardiac involvement.

The lung function test, and the study of blood gases to show to what type of emphysema disease (Pink Buffer or Blue Bloater) it is. In both types of oxygen in the blood is lowered, the carbon dioxide content is only the Blue Bloater increased.