Chest pain in the accident and emergency department: is chest radiography worthwhile?
Open Access
- 1 June 1991
- journal article
- research article
- Published by BMJ in Emergency Medicine Journal
- Vol. 8 (2), 97-101
- https://doi.org/10.1136/emj.8.2.97
Abstract
Four per cent of patients attend the Accident and Emergency Department (A&E) present with chest pain. In this prospective study of 297 patients the value of chest radiography is assessed. Overall, 23% of chest X-rays (CXRs) had an abnormality which influenced management of the patient, rising to 40% in those patients admitted to Coronary Care. Twenty-nine per cent of CXRs were misinterpreted by Casualty Officers but resulted in the mismanagement of only six patients (3.3%). Potentially serious errors were averted by early CXR audit by a Radiologist.Keywords
This publication has 1 reference indexed in Scilit:
- Five thousand acute care/emergency department chest radiographs: Comparison of requisitions with radiographic findingsThe Journal of Emergency Medicine, 1988