The value of routine daily chest x-rays in intubated patients in the medical intensive care unit

Two hundred routine chest x-rays were evaluated to determine their value in the management of critically ill patients in a Medical ICU (MICU). Seventy-four x-rays (37%) were of suboptimal value or were delivered to the MICU too late for inclusion on morning rounds. Of the remaining 126 films, 54 (43...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inCritical care medicine Vol. 10; no. 1; p. 29
Main Authors Greenbaum, D M, Marschall, K E
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.01.1982
Subjects
Critical Care
Efficiency
Evaluation Studies as Topic
Humans
Intubation, Intratracheal
Patient Care Planning
Radiography, Thoracic - standards
Respiration, Artificial
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Summary:Two hundred routine chest x-rays were evaluated to determine their value in the management of critically ill patients in a Medical ICU (MICU). Seventy-four x-rays (37%) were of suboptimal value or were delivered to the MICU too late for inclusion on morning rounds. Of the remaining 126 films, 54 (43%) showed worsening of a known, or development of a new, cardiopulmonary abnormality, or an unexpected misplacement of an invasive device. On the basis of these findings, routine daily chest radiographs were judged to be valuable in identifying abnormalities in critically ill patients. However, the system for providing this service was only 63% efficient, and improvement must be sought in this regard.
ISSN:0090-3493
DOI:10.1097/00003246-198201000-00007