A Low-Tech Solution to Diagnosing a Serious Problem

An elderly patient was brought in short of breath.     The x-ray finding was not seen on first glance. A colleague mentioned that his mentor recommended always rotating the film to the left and right as a better way to see a pneumothorax on plain radiographs. It seems human eyes are better at seeing horizontal lines than vertical ones. In fact, that simple maneuver seemed to make the pleural line pop. A dark viewing room makes the line stand out even more.           The patient was sent for CT to confirm the finding and to evaluate for adherence to the chest wall. Remember that ultrasound has been shown to have great sensitivity and specificity in diagnosing pneumothorax as well.   Tip to Remember: Rotate your chest films to see a pneumothorax more easily.     Tags: emergency department, emergency medicine, x-ray, CT scan, chest films, pneumothoraxPublished: 9/1/2015 8:11:00 AM
Source: Lions and Tigers and Bears - Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs