Table 3 Incidence of new expected and new unexpected predefined major abnormalities in 2,457 daily routine chest radiographs
Abnormalities | Expected abnormalitiesa | Unexpected abnormalitiesa | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Abnormalities expected by the ICU physician | Abnormalities found by the radiologist | Unexpected abnormalities found by the radiologist | Abnormalities resulting in a change in therapy | |
Large atelectasis | 4 (0.2%) | 0 | 24 (1.0%) | - |
Large infiltrates | 7 (0.3%) | 2 (0.08%) | 23 (0.9%) | 12 (0.5%) |
'Severe' pulmonary congestion | 5 (0.2%) | 1 (0.04%) | 29 (1.2%) | - |
'Severe' pleural effusion | 3 (0.1%) | 0 | 13 (0.5%) | 5 (0.2%) |
Pneumothorax or pneumomediastinum | 2 (0.08%) | 0 | 14 (0.6%) | 5 (0.2%) |
Malposition of oropharyngeal tube | 1 (0.04%) | 0 | 32 (1.3%) | 19 (0.8%) |
Malposition of intravenous lines | 0 | 0 | 12 (0.5%) | 9 (0.4%) |
Malposition of intra-aortic balloon pump | 0 | 0 | 1 (0.04%) | 1 (0.04%) |
Malposition of gastric tube | 0 | 0 | 5 (0.2%) | 3 (0.1%) |
Malposition of drains | 0 | 0 | 1 (0.04%) | 1 (0.04%) |
Total number of abnormalities | 22 | 3 | 154 | 55 |
Total number of chest radiographs with abnormalities | 19 (0.8%) | 3 (0.1%) | 142 (5.8%) | 53 (2.2%) |
Total number of patients with chest radiographs with abnormalitiesb | 20 (2.7%) | 3 (0.4%) | 108 (14.3%) | 48 (6.4%) |