Evaluation of Diagnostic Quality of Chest Radiographs Seen in a Nigerian Teaching Hospital

Chest radiograph is an invaluable tool to the physicians and surgeons for the assessment of the airways, lungs, mediastinum, heart, pleura and chest walls. Radiographs of poor diagnostic quality could lead to poor diagnosis and ultimately to poor management outcome. This study was aimed at assessing the diagnostic quality of chest radiographs in order to evaluate standards and establish causes of repeat. The study evaluated the anatomical details, physical and technical factors. A total of 800 chest radiographs, produced between January 2014 and February 2016, were retrieved from the records of the Radiology Department of University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital Ituku-Ozalla, Enugu State and evaluated. Of the 300 chest radiographs evaluated for year 2014, 16% met all the criteria for good diagnostic quality according to the European guidelines. In 2015, out of 400 chest radiographs evaluated, 14% of the radiographs met all the criteria for good diagnostic quality according to the European guidelines. In 2016, 32% of the radiographs met all the criteria for good diagnostic quality. Inadequate collimation, “scapula not out of lung field”, darkroom processing faults, inadequate penetration and rotation were the major contributors to radiographs of poor diagnostic quality. Knowledge of diagnostic quality of radiographs is desirable for maintenance of standards, improvement in quality and reduction of wastages in our radiology departments.