Chest x-ray findings of paediatric patients seen at a Teaching Hospital in North-western Nigeria

Abstract

Introduction: Plain radiography is the first line of radiological examination used for the evaluation of paediatric chest, and also a rapid imaging technique that allows lung abnormality to be identified. X-ray is used to diagnose conditions of the thoracic cavity, including airways, ribs, lungs, heart, and diaphragm. Chest x-ray has a high sensitivity for pulmonary tuberculosis and thus is a valuable tool to identify a differential diagnosis for a patient. Methodology: Two hundred and eleven paediatrics chest x-ray reports were studied between February 2017 to September 2018. Data were collected retrospectively from the hospital archives using a data capture sheet. Results: Two hundred and eleven radiographs were assessed and the age of patients whose radiographs participated in the study ranged from 0-15 years. Also, a greater number of male patients 133(63.03%) participated in the study than female patients 78(36.97%). Among all the radiographs used in this study, the most common age group for this study ranged from 0-3 years. Results from the study also revealed that bronchopneumonia was the most common finding totaling 105(49.76%) followed by radiographs which are normal findings 77(36.49), pulmonary tuberculosis, 19(9.00%), congestive heart failure 4(1.90%), pleural effusion 3(1.42%), enlarged adenoid 2(0.95%) and dextrocardia 1(0.47%). Conclusion: This study report bronchopneumonia was the most common paediatrics radiographic finding in a chest x-ray. Plain radiography is an effective tool to examine various respiratory and cardiac pathologies and is the first line of investigation for chest pathologies.