• L Beydon, M Saada, N Liu, J P Becquemin, A Harf, F Bonnet, A Rauss, and A Rahmouni.
• Department of Anesthesia, Hôpital Henri Mondor, Créteil, France.
• Chest. 1992 Dec 1; 102 (6): 1697-703.

PurposeTo prospectively quantify the degree of accuracy of portable chest x-ray film examination in the detection of postoperative lung consolidations.StudyNineteen patients had a chest x-ray film and computed tomography (CT) scan the day before and 48 h following elective abdominal aortic replacement.ResultsThe diagnosis of lung consolidations by x-ray film examination showed sensitivity of between 0.33 and 1.00, depending on the lung zone considered (lower at the lung bases). Specificity always was greater than 0.79. Radiologic lung volume decreased 16 percent postoperatively (p < 0.01) on average and noninflated parenchyma increased by a factor of 3 (p < 0.0001). Postoperatively, PaO2 correlated with the amount of condensed lung by CT scan (p < 0.002).ConclusionIn postoperative conditions, x-ray film examination is a method which presents good specificity but poor sensitivity in the diagnosis of lung consolidations.

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