title: Radiography of facial trauma, the lateral view is not required.
abstract: The value of the lateral radiograph in patients who have sustained facial trauma has been assessed. Three observers each assessed 200 sets of facial radiographs randomly containing either three- (occipito mental, occipito mental 30 and lateral) or two-film series (lateral excluded). No additional fractures were detected with three films. A sensitivity of 90% and a positive predictive value of 0.90 was seen with both three and two-film series. Specificity was 99.3% with three films and 97.3% with two films. These differences are not statistically significant. We conclude that the lateral film can safely be excluded from the initial assessment of patients with facial trauma.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Western Infirmary NHS Trust, Glasgow, UK.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Raby
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Moore
mesh_terms: D005147:Facial Bones / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000293:injuries*; D006801:Humans; D015588:Observer Variation; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011859:Radiography / Q000379:methods; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012887:Skull Fractures / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*