Patient information series. Pulmonary function tests.

medicines that you should not take on the day of your test. What is spirometry? Spirometry is one of the most commonly ordered lung function tests. The spirometer measures how much air you can breathe into your lungs and how much air you can quickly blow out of your lungs. This test is done by having you take in a deep breath and then, as fast as you can, blow out all of the air. You will be blowing into a tube connected to a machine (spirometer). The spirometry test is often repeated after giving you a breathing medicine (bronchodilator) to find out how much better you might breathe with this type of medicine. You will be asked to repeat this test two or three times to get an accurate measure of your lung function. It can take practice to be able to do spirometry well. The staff person will work with you to learn how to do the test correctly. It usually takes 30 minutes to complete this test.