Indications for chest X-rays in children and how to obtain and interpret them
Intended for healthcare professionals
Evidence & Practice    

Indications for chest X-rays in children and how to obtain and interpret them

Hannah Morgan Fifth-year medical student, Peninsula College of Medicine and Denistry, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, England
Garry Pettet Formerly consultant radiologist, Torbay Hospital, Torquay, England
Michele Reed Advanced practice reporting radiographer and paediatric lead radiographer, Torbay Hospital, Torquay, England
Siba Prosad Paul Consultant paediatrician, Torbay Hospital, Torquay, England

Chest X-ray (CXR) is one of the most common radiological investigations undertaken in practice with children. CXRs are requested for a number of suspected diagnoses, including pneumonia, pneumothorax and foreign body aspiration or ingestion. They may also be requested as part of a skeletal survey or to confirm the position of central and umbilical lines, as well as nasogastric tubes.

Nurses play a vital role in ensuring that X-rays are performed in a safe and timely manner, and to ensure children are supported and positioned appropriately to obtain the best quality images. It is useful for nurses working with children to understand the underlying mechanism and rationale for requesting X-rays because this helps them to communicate the relevance of the procedure to other team members. This article provides an overview of the fundamental principles of obtaining a CXR and interpreting the images.

Nursing Children and Young People. 30, 6, 30-37. doi: 10.7748/ncyp.2018.e1141

Correspondence

siba.paul@nhs.net

Peer review

This article has been subject to open peer review and has been checked for plagiarism using automated software

Conflict of interest

None declared

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