What is the lung scan?
lung scanning is a medical test performed for screening for abnormalities in the lungs. An individual may be recommended to scan the lungs if it shows specific symptoms. These symptoms may include shortness of breath, blood cough, chest pain, wheezing and persistent cough. A person with an existing lung disease may undergo scanning to learn about the progression of the disease. In addition, individuals may suspect a blood clots in the lungs to scan to confirm or exclude the possibility.
One type of lung scan is ventilation scanning, which is usually performed to determine the lung capacity to vent the air. For this type of scanning, the patient will wear a special mask covering the mouth and nose. It will be asked to breathe a special tracing gas. Special cameras capture multiple pictures when hitchhiking travels through the lungs. In most cases, the patient is instructed to exhale and inhale during this test at different times.
Ventilation scan is usually kombin with perfusion scanning. This type of lung scanning is most often used to analyze blood flow in the lungs. During this scanning, a radioactive tracing machine is injected into the patient's vein. This scan also uses a special camera to highlight the radioactive stopper when it passes through the veins and into the lung cavities. The blood that circulates the same in the lungs will show an uniform distribution of the tracks, while the unusual blood flow will be unevenly distributed.
Ventilation and perfusion scanning is commonly performed when the doctor suspects that the patient may have a blood clot. These tests can also be performed for diagnosis of pulmonary embolism, blocking one or more pulmonary arteries caused by blood clots. Lung embolism can cause disruption of air flow and blood circulation in the lungs. In most cases, the results of ventilation and perfusion scanning are similar in persons with healthy lungs. Significantly uneven results generally indicate some type of pulmonary abNormality.
If a doctor suspects lung cancer, he can order additional lung scanning. He can order a display test. This may include lung magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), pulmonary positron emission tomography (PET) or computer tomography (CT) lung scanning. These types of scans can be made as part of the lung cancer screening. They can also be performed in an individual with an existing diagnosis of lung cancer.
doctors can order only one lung scan for the patient or more. In general, the symptoms and medical history of the individual can be taken into account the scan type they undergo. In some patients, some scanning may be more suitable than others. After they have been scanned by lung scanning, the doctors call the patient and inform him about the results. Results can provide relevant information about what, if any, scan treatment may be required.