Diagnosis of Emphysema
The diagnosis of emphysema is not possible by solely looking into the symptoms a person is experiencing. Several diagnostic tests are important to perform to get a proper diagnosis. One simple test for emphysema is to tap on the chest of a person and listen for a hollow sound with a stethoscope. The hollow sound in the chest means that there is trapping of air inside your lungs hinting towards the development of emphysema. [5]
Some important diagnostic tests for emphysema include the following:
X-ray scanning
X-rays are typically not beneficial for diagnosing early stages of emphysema. However, X-rays are quite helpful in the detection of severe or moderate cases of emphysema. Either a computer-aided tomography (CAT) or a plain chest X-ray scan can be greatly helpful. Once the test is complete, the technicians compare the readings of X-rays scans of normal or healthy lungs with the emphysema patient’s scan.