Chest radiography

Chest radiography, often called chest x-ray, is a commonly performed radiological procedure. Some indications include:

• Symptoms
  • Dyspnoea
  • Chronic cough
• Suspicion of
  • Pneumonia
  • Pleural effusion
  • Heart failure
  • Lung cancer

Findings

See also imaging of pneumonia.

• Enlarged cardiac shadow (cardiomegaly)
  • Defined as a cardio-thoracic ratio > 50%
    • Meaning that the width of the heart is more than 50% the width of the chest wall on a standing PA x-ray
  • Causes
    • Pericardial effusion
    • Heart failure
    • Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
    • Dilated cardiomyopathy
• White-out of a hemithorax
  • Complete opacification of one hemithorax
  • Differential diagnosis
    • Total pneumonectomy
    • Extended pleural effusion or hydropneumothorax
    • Large mass obstructing airways, causing atelectasis of the whole lung
• Flattening of diaphragm
  • Due to increased pressure/hyperinflation of lungs
    • Tension pneumothorax
    • COPD/emphysema

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