18th Judicial Circuit Court-Message from the Chief Judge. The judges and support staff of the Circuit Court of the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit of the State of Illinois are committed to serving the public by providing a fair and efficient system of justice that fosters the public trust and confidence.
Everyone at risk for COPD who has cough, sputum production, or shortness of breath, should be tested for the disease. The test for COPD is called spirometry. Spirometry can detect COPD before symptoms become severe. It is a simple, non-invasive breathing test that measures the amount of air a person can blow out of the lungs (volume) and how fast he or she can blow it out (flow).
The doctor can also take a picture of your lungs using a chest x-ray or CAT scan to look for abnormalities in the structure of the lungs, such as an infection like pneumonia. However, these two tests can still miss important problems. For this reason, a breathing test, called spirometry, is often done to further evaluate the health of the lungs. Spirometry can tell you how much air is going into the lungs and how rapidly air is inhaled and exhaled in the lungs (airflow).