Lightning Learning: Basic Chest X-rays in Adults

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DETAIL

• Name

• Date of birth (DOB)

• Type of film

• Study date & time

RIPE

• Rotation

• Inspiration

• Picture

• Exposure

SOFT TISSUES

• Ribs, sternum, spine, clavicles

• Breast shadows

• Calcification

AIRWAY

• Trachea

• Mediastinal width

• Aortic knob

Do not miss: Deviated Trachea

BREATHING

• Lung field outlines

• Symmetry

• Pleural

Do not miss: Pneumothorax

CIRCULATION

• Heart size on PA film

• Heart borders

• Heart shape

DIAPHRAGM

• Hemidiaphragm levels

• Diaphragm shape or contour

• Costophrenic angles

Do not miss: Subdiaphragmatic Free Air (pneumoperitoneum)

EXTRAS

• Nasogastric tube

• Pacemaker

• ECG electrodes

• PICC line

• Foreign body

• ET tube

References:

Source: litfl.com/drsabcde-of-cxr-interpretation

Image courtesy of Assoc Prof Frank Gaillard, Radiopaedia.org, rID: 8090