Respiratory testing in Islamabad
Lung function testing measures how much air you can move and how fast; high-resolution CT shows the structure of the lung itself. Together they answer most breathing questions.
Price on request
- Opening hours
- Open 24 hours, 7 days a week
- At the centre
- These studies need the equipment here
About respiratory
A cough that will not settle is one of the most common reasons people come in, and it has a wide range of causes — asthma, chronic obstructive disease, infection, reflux, allergy, or the air quality itself. Testing is what separates them, because the treatment for each is different and treating the wrong one wastes months.
Spirometry is the core measurement. You breathe out as hard and as fast as you can into a mouthpiece, several times, and the machine records the volume and the speed. That pattern is what distinguishes an airway that is narrowed and reversible, as in asthma, from one that is narrowed and fixed, as in COPD.
Where the question is structural rather than functional — scarring, nodules, the pattern of an infection — high-resolution CT of the chest is the study, and it runs on the same scanner as the rest of our CT work.
When your doctor sends you here
- A cough lasting more than three weeks
- Wheeze, or a chest that tightens with exercise or at night
- Breathlessness that is new, or worse than it was
- Asthma or COPD being diagnosed, or treatment being reviewed
- A chest X-ray finding that needs a closer look
- Snoring with daytime sleepiness
How to prepare
- Avoid a heavy meal in the two hours before spirometry — a full stomach limits how deeply you can breathe in.
- Ask your doctor whether to hold an inhaler beforehand. Some tests are done before and after a bronchodilator on purpose.
- Avoid smoking for at least an hour before the test, and strenuous exercise for thirty minutes.
- Wear something that does not restrict your chest or waist.
Tests and scans in respiratory
FeNO (Exhaled Nitric Oxide)
Measures airway inflammation, to guide asthma treatment.
- Same day
- No fasting
HRCT Chest
Thin-slice CT of the lungs, for interstitial disease and bronchiectasis.
- 24 hours
- No fasting
Sleep Study (Polysomnography)
An overnight recording that diagnoses obstructive sleep apnoea.
- 5–7 working days
- No fasting
Spirometry
Measures how much and how fast you can breathe out — the test for asthma and COPD.
- Same day
- No fasting
We are finalising which studies in this department we publish. If you have been asked for something specific, call 0312 38 99 99 and we will confirm whether we run it, what it involves and when the report is ready — before you travel.
Common questions
What does spirometry actually feel like?
Tiring rather than uncomfortable. You take the deepest breath you can and blow out as hard and as long as possible into a mouthpiece, and you repeat it several times so the best effort is the one recorded. The whole appointment takes about twenty minutes.
Do I need a chest CT as well?
Not usually. Spirometry answers the functional question and is the right first test for most people. A CT is added when the pattern is unclear, when a chest X-ray has shown something, or when scarring or a nodule needs characterising.
Can this be done at home?
No. Lung function testing needs the equipment and a technologist to coach the effort, and a CT obviously needs the scanner. Home collection covers blood, urine and stool samples only.
Other departments
Laboratory
Blood count · HbA1c · Cultures
Radiology & imaging
MRI · CT scan · Ultrasound
Cardiac
ECG · Echo · Stress test
Neurophysiology
EEG · NCS · EMG
Women's health
Mammogram · Pap smear · HSG
Bone health
DEXA scan · Vitamin D · Calcium
Dental imaging
Digital OPG · Cone beam CT
Not sure which test you need?
Call 0312 38 99 99 and our team will help you choose, or search the full catalogue yourself — no account needed.