F. Aitchison et al., DETECTION OF PNEUMOTHORAX BY ACCIDENT AND EMERGENCY OFFICERS AND RADIOLOGISTS ON SINGLE CHEST FILMS, Archives of emergency medicine, 10(4), 1993, pp. 343-346
To assess whether an accurate diagnosis of pneumothorax can be made on
a single chest film, 233 pairs of inspiratory (I) and expiratory (E)
chest films taken in an accident and emergency (A&E) department for su
spected pneumothorax were reviewed by two A&E officers and three radio
logists. The films were assessed for the presence of pneumothorax by v
iewing the I film in isolation and, after an interval, by viewing the
paired I and E films together. Fifty-four of the patients had a pneumo
thorax. The five observers missed 23 pneumothoraces (8.5% of total) on
the I film alone which were correctly diagnosed on the paired I and E
films, the three radiologists missed 10/162 pneumothoraces on the I f
ilm alone which were correctly identified on the I and E films (6%) an
d the two A&E officers 33/108 (12.5%). The use of a single inspiratory
chest film for suspected pneumothorax could result in pneumothoraces
being missed, particularly by less experienced observers and therefore
we believe that paired I and E films should continue to be used routi
nely for suspected pneumothorax.