title: Diagnostic accuracy of cardiothoracic ratio on admission chest radiography to detect left or right ventricular systolic dysfunction: a retrospective study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the diagnostic accuracy of the cardiothoracic ratio on postero-anterior or antero-posterior chest radiographs in predicting left ventricular or right ventricular dysfunction on echocardiography in an inpatient population.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two secondary care hospitals in the United Kingdom.
  
  
  METHODS
  Four hundred consecutive inpatient echocardiograms were screened for inclusion along with chest radiographs (both postero-anterior and antero-posterior). The cardiothoracic ratio was calculated from chest radiographs along with quantitative and qualitative measures of left ventricular or right ventricular dysfunction on echocardiography.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sensitivity and specificity of cardiothoracic ratio across a range of values to detect moderate/severe left ventricular and/or right ventricular dysfunction on echocardiography.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, 272 records met inclusion criteria. The prevalence of left ventricular/right ventricular dysfunction on echocardiography was 26% in an inpatient population with high clinical suspicion of cardiac disease referred for echocardiography. Over a range of cardiothoracic ratio values on postero-anterior films, a value of >0.55 yielded the best sensitivity (62.5%) and specificity (76.5%) for diagnosing left ventricular/right ventricular impairment (positive likelihood ratio 2.56), with a positive predictive value of 29.5%. Cardiothoracic ratio on antero-posterior film was not predictive of left ventricular/right ventricular impairment on echocardiography.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In conclusion, in the context of an acute admission, cardiothoracic ratio measured on postero-anterior or antero-posterior films has limited value in detecting moderate left ventricular and/or right ventricular systolic dysfunction. Previously established absolute values may be unreliable by modern standards.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, North West London Hospitals NHS Trust, Bedford Hospital, Harrow HA1 3UJ, UK.
authors.forename: Harmeet S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Chana
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Bedford Hospital NHS Trust, Bedford MK42 9DJ, UK.
authors.forename: Claire A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Bedford Hospital NHS Trust, Bedford MK42 9DJ, UK.
authors.forename: Holly E
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Cakebread
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Bedford Hospital NHS Trust, Bedford MK42 9DJ, UK.
authors.forename: Felicia D
authors.initials: FD
authors.lastname: Adjei
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Bedford Hospital NHS Trust, Bedford MK42 9DJ, UK gajendragadkar@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Parag R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Gajendragadkar
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D004452:Echocardiography; D004739:England; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D013902:Radiography, Thoracic; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D018487:Ventricular Dysfunction, Left / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D018497:Ventricular Dysfunction, Right / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*
keywords: cardiovascular disease; diagnosis; heart failure; hospital medicine; radiology