Making sense of the chest x-ray: a hands on guide

Edited by P. F. Jenkins
Published by Hodder Arnold, London, UK
Pages: 194. Price: £15.99. ISBN: 0-340-88542-4

As mentioned by the author in the preface “Making sense of the chest x-ray” is not an exhaustive reference for differential diagnosis based on the chest radiograph, but offers a more practical, problem‐solving approach to the interpretation of a chest x-ray.

In the first chapter the author explains his systematic approach when interpreting a chest radiograph. Chapters 2 to 6 each begin with radiological features one can encounter when reading a chest film, which are: mediastinal and hilar shadows; consolidation collapse and cavitations; pulmonary infiltrates; nodular lesions; ring shadows and calcification; and pleural disease. Chapter 6 discusses the hypoxaemic patient with a normal chest radiograph while chapter 7 includes practice examples and fascinomas. The book finishes with an index and a few references to textbooks that are interesting for further reading.

Each chapter is well organised and written clearly. Radiological features are described and their relevance is discussed by correlating them with the clinical findings that may be expected when these radiological changes are seen. Each chapter has several short paragraphs on these clinical associations, each of which is announced with a small icon. In the same way icons announce short paragraphs on potential pitfalls in interpretation, interesting points to ponder and “pearls of wisdom”. The small size of this 194‐page book makes it easy to read. Many figures and illustrations complete the book. They are well chosen and illustrate very well what is written in the book. Some of them, however, suffer from the small size of the book and small changes are sometimes especially difficult to see.

In short, this book can be recommended to healthcare professionals who want to improve their interpretation skills of the chest x-ray not only by learning to approach this chest x-ray in a practical way, but also by learning the importance of correlating the radiological findings with the clinical findings.