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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Indian J Radiol Imaging 2016; 26(03): 402-404
DOI: 10.4103/0971-3026.190409
Chest Radiography

The routine pre-employment screening chest radiograph: Should it be routine?

John Samuel V
Radiologist, Christian Fellowship Hospital, Oddanchatram, Tamil Nadu, India
,
Sridhar Gibikote
Department of Radiology, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India
,
Henry Kirupakaran
Department of Staff Health, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India
› Author Affiliations Financial support and sponsorship Nil.
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Abstract

Background and Objective: A routine chest radiograph is mandatory in many institutions as a part of pre-employment screening. The usefulness of this has been studied over the years keeping in mind the added time, cost, and radiation concerns. Studies conducted outside India have shown different results, some for and some against it. To our knowledge, there is no published data from India on this issue. Materials and Methods: A retrospective review of the reports of 4113 pre-employment chest radiographs done between 2007 and 2009 was conducted. Results: Out of 4113 radiographs, 24 (0.58%) candidates required further evaluation based on findings from the screening chest radiograph. Out of these, 7 (0.17%) candidates required appropriate further treatment. Interpretation and Conclusions: The percentage of significant abnormalities detected which needed further medical intervention was small (0.17%). Although the individual radiation exposure is very small, the large numbers done nation-wide would significantly add to the community radiation, with added significant cost and time implications. We believe that pre-employment chest radiographs should be restricted to candidates in whom there is relevant history and/or clinical findings suggestive of cardiopulmonary disease.

Keywords

Chest radiograph - pre-employment - routine - screening - usefulness


Publication History

Article published online:
30 July 2021

© 2016. Indian Radiological Association. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

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