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Pulmonary function test & spirometry in Coimbatore
30–45 minutes
A Pulmonary Function Test (PFT) measures how much air your lungs can hold, how fast you can move air in and out, and how efficiently oxygen passes from your lungs into your blood. It is the single most useful objective test in respiratory medicine.
At Lung Care we offer the full suite — spirometry, bronchodilator reversibility, lung volumes and diffusion capacity (DLCO) — performed on calibrated equipment and reported personally by Dr. Arun Gangadhar.
Who is this for?
- Long-standing cough, wheeze or breathlessness
- Known or suspected asthma / COPD
- Interstitial lung disease (ILD) follow-up
- Pre-operative fitness assessment
- Occupational lung disease screening
What happens during your visit
- You sit upright and breathe into a sterile mouthpiece while wearing a nose-clip.
- Several breathing manoeuvres are coached by our technician (10–15 attempts).
- If indicated, a bronchodilator is given and the test is repeated after 15 minutes.
- A full report with interpretation is handed over the same day.
Why this test is performed
- To find out whether breathlessness, cough or wheeze is coming from the airways, the lung tissue, or neither.
- To confirm asthma — by showing that airflow improves significantly after a bronchodilator.
- To confirm and grade COPD, where airflow limitation persists after a bronchodilator.
- To follow interstitial lung disease over time, where lung volumes and DLCO matter more than airflow.
- To assess fitness before surgery, and to screen workers exposed to dust, fumes or cotton in the mills around Coimbatore.
How to prepare
- •Avoid a heavy meal for two hours before the test, and avoid smoking on the day.
- •Hold your reliever inhaler for 6 hours and long-acting inhalers for 12–24 hours if reversibility testing is planned — we confirm the timing when you book.
- •Wear loose clothing, and avoid vigorous exercise in the half hour beforehand.
- •Bring earlier PFT reports and your inhaler list so the trend can be compared, not just the single reading.
What it feels like
- •You sit upright with a nose-clip and blow into a sterile mouthpiece while the technician coaches each blow.
- •The forced blows need real effort and can leave you briefly light-headed or coughing — this settles within seconds.
- •Several attempts are needed because the test only counts when three blows agree with each other.
- •If a bronchodilator is given, there is a 15-minute wait before the blows are repeated.
30–45 minutes
Safety and limitations
- •Spirometry is safe. Transient light-headedness, coughing or a headache are the usual complaints.
- •It is postponed after a recent heart attack, recent eye or chest surgery, or an untreated pneumothorax.
- •Results are only as good as the effort — a poorly performed blow can look like disease, which is why coaching and quality checks matter.
Results and reporting
- •You receive the report on the same day, with the flow-volume loop and the predicted values for your age, height and sex.
- •Dr. Arun Gangadhar interprets it personally — obstructive, restrictive or mixed pattern, degree of reversibility, and where relevant the gas transfer (DLCO).
- •The number that matters most is usually the trend across visits, so keep your reports.
When to consult a pulmonologist
- Cough, wheeze or breathlessness lasting more than three weeks.
- Inhalers were started years ago without a lung function test ever being done.
- Breathlessness that is worsening despite treatment, or a falling exercise tolerance.
- A known smoker or biomass-fuel exposure history with a morning cough.
How Lung Care helps
- •The full suite is available in one visit — spirometry, bronchodilator reversibility, lung volumes and diffusion capacity (DLCO).
- •Where forced blows are not possible, the forced oscillation technique (FOT) is offered instead, so no patient is left untested.
- •Testing, interpretation and the treatment plan happen at the same RS Puram visit rather than across three appointments.
Dr. Arun Gangadhar’s expertise
- •Dr. Arun Gangadhar is a consultant interventional pulmonologist and sleep physician — MBBS, DNB (Pulmonary Medicine), MNAMS, IDCCM, EDARM.
- •Lung function is reported by him rather than issued as an unread printout, which is what separates a usable report from a number on paper.
Ready to book?
Reserve a consultation with Dr. Arun Gangadhar at our RS Puram clinic.