Department of Radiation Medicine, Faculty of Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Nigeria, Ituku-Ozalla, Enugu, Nigeria.
Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus, Nigeria.
Niger J Clin Pract. 2024 Sep 1;27(9):1039-1043. doi: 10.4103/njcp.njcp_604_23. Epub 2024 Sep 30.
A chest radiograph is the most commonly requested and performed imaging for diagnosis and screening including medical examination.
The study aimed to determine the prevalence and pattern of incidentalomas in radiographs of cases presenting for pre-employment medical examination.
This was a retrospective review of chest radiographs conducted for patients presenting for pre-employment medical examination from January to December 2022. Relevant data including sociodemographic characteristics, clinical details and chest radiograph reports were retrieved using study proforma from all patients with complete medical data were analyzed using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 23 with the level of statistical significance set as P <0.05 taken as statistically significant.
Three hundred and eleven chest radiographs of subjects aged 20-49 years were evaluated, of which 22 (7.1%) incidentalomas were found. Most were females (55%). Of these incidentalomas, 12 (54.6%) were in the cardiovascular system, while the skeletal and pulmonary systems accounted for eight (36.4%) and two (9.1%), respectively. In all participants, clinically significant findings were eight (2, 6%), comprising of cardiomegaly five (1.6%), leash of vessels in the upper zone one (0.3%), blunt costophrenic angle one (0.3%), and right-sided aortic arch one (0.3%). Age and gender have no statistical significance in the incidental findings.
Although the incidence of clinically significant incidentalomas appears low in our environment where beliefs and lack of adequate healthcare financing prevent the majority from seeking timely medical attention, chest radiograph remains an invaluable tool for pre-employment medical examination. Some underlying medical conditions could be picked up, further investigation sought to save life, and it serves as a baseline with which future findings may be compared.
胸部 X 光片是最常用于诊断和筛查的影像学检查，包括体检。
本研究旨在确定进行入职体检的患者的 X 光片中偶然发现的发生率和模式。
这是对 2022 年 1 月至 12 月期间进行入职体检的患者的胸部 X 光片进行的回顾性研究。使用研究表格从所有具有完整医疗数据的患者中检索了包括社会人口统计学特征、临床详细信息和胸部 X 光片报告在内的相关数据。使用统计软件包 for social sciences (SPSS) version 23 进行分析，统计显著性水平设为 P <0.05。
评估了 311 名年龄在 20-49 岁的患者的胸部 X 光片，发现 22 例（7.1%）偶然发现。大多数是女性（55%）。这些偶然发现中，心血管系统占 12 例（54.6%），骨骼系统和肺部系统分别占 8 例（36.4%）和 2 例（9.1%）。在所有参与者中，有 8 例（2.6%）为临床显著发现，包括心脏增大 5 例（1.6%）、上区血管束 1 例（0.3%）、钝性肋膈角 1 例（0.3%）和右位主动脉弓 1 例（0.3%）。年龄和性别在偶然发现中没有统计学意义。
尽管在我们的环境中，由于信仰和缺乏足够的医疗保健资金，大多数人无法及时寻求医疗关注，因此临床上有意义的偶然发现的发生率似乎较低，但胸部 X 光片仍然是入职体检的一项宝贵工具。一些潜在的医疗条件可以被发现，进一步的调查可以挽救生命，并且它可以作为未来发现的基线进行比较。
