Diagnosis:
Diagnosis begins with a detailed medical and lifestyle history to determine symptoms and assess risk factors. This assessment is followed by a complete physical examination. Among other checks, the doctor will examine the patient's throat to look for other possible causes of hoarseness or coughing and listen to the patient's breathing and the sounds made when the patient's chest and upper back are thumped (percussed). The physical examination usually is inconclusive. To get more detailed results, doctors also recommends patients imaging tests, sputum analysis or lung biopsy.