Context: The problem of left behind radiological investigations is encountered round the world, which adds to the wastage of resources. Aims: This article attempts to highlights the problem of left behind conventional radiographs in an emergency setting in a tertiary care center of northern India. Settings and Design: Tertiary care center, retrospective study. Materials and Methods: The number of radiographs left behind in the emergency over a period of 14 months was retrospectively assessed. The radiographs were classified as normal, abnormal and technically poor. The technically poor radiographs included the ones with poor centering, inadequate inspiration and improper exposure factors limiting the interpretation. Statistical Analysis Used: Discrete categorical data is presented as n (%). Results: A total of 2783 radiographs were left behind. The total cost of these left out radiographs worked out to 139,150 Indian rupees. Of the 2783 radiographs, 1108 had positive findings (39.8%) and 1399 were normal (50.2%). The technically poor radiographs were 276 (10%) and no definite conclusion could be given as no clinical history was provided in the majority of these cases. Conclusions: A joint cost-effective strategy should be formulated by hospital administration, radiology and allied departments to overcome the problem of ever increasing bundles of left out radiography, especially in the developing countries having resource-poor settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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¹Department of Radiodiagnosis and Imaging, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India

1755-6783

10.4103/1755-6783.133709

96564590