Errors in chest x-ray interpretation

Full text: Reporting of adult chest x-rays by appropriately trained radiographers is frequently used in the United Kingdom as one method to maintain a patient focused radiology service in times of increasing workload. With models of advanced practice being developed in Australia, New Zealand and Canada, the spotlight is on the evidence base which underpins radiographer reporting. It is essential that any radiographer who extends their scope of practice to incorporate definitive clinical reporting perform at a level comparable to a consultant radiologist. In any analysis of performance it is important to quantify levels of sensitivity and specificity and to evaluate areas of error and variation. A critical review of the errors made by reporting radiographers in the interpretation of adult chest x-rays will be performed, examining performance in structured clinical examinations, clinical audit and a diagnostic accuracy study from research undertaken by the authors, and including studies which have compared the performance of reporting radiographers and consultant radiologists. overall performance will be examined and common errors discussed using a case based approach. Methods of error reduction, including multidisciplinary team meetings and ongoing learning will be considered