THE VALUE OF A ROUTINE ABDOMINAL FILM

Abstract

The practice of taking a routine chest roentgenogram for all patients admitted to the hospital is tending to become universal. Few clinicians question the value of such films; they have come to be accepted as a part of routine studies, similar to the blood cell count and urinalysis. This is true despite the fact that the percentage of films with abnormal findings is small compared to the number of "negative" chest roentgenograms. Assay of the exact value of a routine chest roentgenogram is difficult. One of the most comprehensive of community-wide chest roentgenogram surveys has been made by the division of chronic disease and tuberculosis of the Public Health Service¹during the past five years. In all, 5,840,897 chest roentgenograms were made on 70 mm. film in 17 different communities scattered over the United States. The percentage of abnormal roentgenograms varied from 2% up to 7.2%, with an average