title: Chest radiography in intensive care: an irreplaceable survey?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study evaluated the impact and value of bedside chest X-ray in intensive care units.
  
  
  METHODS
  This observational study considered the bedside chest X-rays performed on 258 consecutive patients (160 men, 98 women; mean age, 58 years) admitted to intensive care units. Stratification of patients according to the reason for hospitalisation and analysis of the reasons for chest X-ray examinations were performed to assess the diagnostic efficacy (DE).
  
  
  RESULTS
  DE for chest X-rays was 84.5%, with 15.5% of tests remaining unchanged over time. Patient stratification by disease indicated that the DE was 85.27% in transplant, 90.79% in postoperative care after general surgery, 83.89% in respiratory failure, 82.42% in polytrauma, 90.54% in postoperative care after neurosurgery, 86.6% in postoperative care after vascular surgery, 83.3% in neurological conditions and 93.4% in other diseases.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Chest X-rays performed at the bedside are the most widely used imaging method in the follow-up of critically ill patients. DE is approximately 84.5%. Radiologists should maintain familiarity with the interpretation of this examination.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Radiologia, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ospedali Riuniti Torrette-Lancisi-Salesi, Via Conca 7, 60125, Ancona, Italy. vale.palazzetti@libero.it
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Palazzetti
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gasparri
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gambini
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sollazzo
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Saric
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Salvolini
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Giovagnoni
mesh_terms: D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D016638:Critical Illness; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019095:Point-of-Care Systems; D013902:Radiography, Thoracic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012189:Retrospective Studies