Mobile chest radiography service for general practitioners.

In an eight-year period a mobile general practitioner chest x-ray referral service examined 100,000 patients referred by their family doctors. Of the patients examined, 8% were found to have previously undiagnosed significant thoracic disease. The incidence of pulmonary tuberculosis in need of treatment was 2.7 per thousand examinations (55% of them infectious). A total of 590 cases of primary cancer of lung were found. The incidence of this disease in men aged 45 and over was 19.4 per thousand examinations. A survey of general practitioners in the area concerned showed that they welcomed the service as a useful addition to their diagnostic facilities.