[Once again, the routine preoperative thorax photo].

A prospective study of the influence of radiological findings upon operation policy was carried out in 810 patients over 40 years of age who underwent elective non cardiopulmonary surgery. Only in 5 patients did it appear that a preoperative X-ray yielded any relevant extra information, and only in 3 cases was the operation planning influenced. If no preoperative chest X-rays has been taken, all except one of the significant abnormalities would have been discovered anyway. By differentiating between patients graded ASA 1 and those classed ASA 2 or higher, it would be possible to reduce the number of preoperative chest X-rays by 41% without any loss of precision. Preoperative chest X-rays in patients over 40 years of age scheduled for non-cardiopulmonary surgery can be restricted to those whose history requires further radiological analysis.