Radiography of facial trauma, the lateral view is not required

The value of the lateral radiograph in patients who have sustained facial trauma has been assessed. Three observers each assessed 200 sets of facial radiographs randomly containing either three- (occipito mental, occipito mental 30 and lateral) or two-film series (lateral excluded). No additional fractures were detected with three films. A sensitivity of 90% and a positive predictive value of 0.90 was seen with both three and two-film series. Specificity was 99.3% with three films and 97.3% with two films. These differences are not statistically significant. We conclude that the lateral film can safely be excluded from the initial assessment of patients with facial trauma.