There are many different reasons why pulmonary function tests (PFTs) may be done. They are sometimes done in healthy people as part of a routine physical. They are also routinely done in specific work environments to ensure employee health (such as graphite factories and coal mines). Or you may have PFTs if your healthcare provider needs help to diagnose you with a health problem such as:
- Allergies
- Respiratory infections
- Trouble breathing from injury to the chest or a recent surgery
- Chronic lung conditions, such as asthma, bronchiectasis, emphysema, or chronic bronchitis
- Asbestosis, a lung disease caused by inhaling asbestos fibers
- Restrictive airway problems from scoliosis, tumors, or inflammation or scarring of the lungs
- Sarcoidosis, a condition that causes lumps of inflammatory cells around organs, such as the liver, lungs, and spleen
- Scleroderma, a condition that causes the thickening and hardening of connective tissue