The utility of screening chest radiographs for flight physicals

Previous studies have shown low efficacy of screening chest radiographs in various populations. Findings of approximately 3,500 screening chest radiographs performed for flight duty were reviewed to determine the rate of detection of significant abnormalities. There were abnormal findings in 107 chest radiographs (3%). Fifty-five of these (1.6% of total), after additional evaluation, were found to be false positive. Only two medically significant conditions were found in the screening population. Based on our data, routine screening of flight duty applicants does not appear to be justified.