STUDY OBJECTIVES: In the United States, chest radiographs are performed on patients with positive tuberculin skin test (TST) results. It is not known whether, in addition to a single posteroanterior radiograph, a lateral chest radiograph is clinically indicated or cost-effective. We sought to determine the utility of the lateral chest radiograph in evaluating TST-positive adults. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Tertiary-care hospital. PATIENTS: Adults with positive TST results. MEASUREMENTS: Findings on posteroanterior radiographs alone were compared to posteroanterior and lateral chest radiographs. RESULTS: In 2 of 535 cases (0.4%), lateral chest radiographs revealed a calcified granuloma not visible on posteroanterior radiographs. This finding did not alter patient management. In all other cases, lateral radiographs only confirmed findings seen on posteroanterior chest radiographs. CONCLUSION: Treatment altering findings were always visible on posteroanterior radiographs alone. These results suggest that lateral chest radiographs are not useful in evaluating adults with positive TST results.
STUDY OBJECTIVES: In the United States, chest radiographs are performed on patients with positive tuberculin skin test (TST) results. It is not known whether, in addition to a single posteroanterior radiograph, a lateral chest radiograph is clinically indicated or cost-effective. We sought to determine the utility of the lateral chest radiograph in evaluating TST-positive adults. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Tertiary-care hospital. PATIENTS: Adults with positive TST results. MEASUREMENTS: Findings on posteroanterior radiographs alone were compared to posteroanterior and lateral chest radiographs. RESULTS: In 2 of 535 cases (0.4%), lateral chest radiographs revealed a calcified granuloma not visible on posteroanterior radiographs. This finding did not alter patient management. In all other cases, lateral radiographs only confirmed findings seen on posteroanterior chest radiographs. CONCLUSION: Treatment altering findings were always visible on posteroanterior radiographs alone. These results suggest that lateral chest radiographs are not useful in evaluating adults with positive TST results.
Authors: Julius Matthias Weinrich; Roland Diel; Markus Sauer; Frank Oliver Henes; Karen Meywald-Walter; Gerhard Adam; Gerhard Schön; Peter Bannas Journal: Eur Radiol Date: 2017-01-03 Impact factor: 5.315
Authors: Jonathan W Uzorka; Lucia J M Kroft; Jaap A Bakker; Erik W van Zwet; Erik Huisman; Corine Prins; Cornelis J van der Zwan; Tom H M Ottenhoff; Sandra M Arend Journal: J Clin Tuberc Other Mycobact Dis Date: 2019-01-25
Authors: Susanne Tewes; Bennet Hensen; Alexandra Jablonka; Dana Gawe; Maija Kastikainen; Christine Happle; Julia Carlens; Lars-Daniel Berthold; Frank Wacker Journal: BMC Public Health Date: 2020-02-07 Impact factor: 3.295