Abdominal x-ray (summary)

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Abdominal radiographs can be a useful examination, but you need to think about the question you are asking before getting the test. Before the advent of computerised tomography (CT) imaging, it was a primary means of investigating gastrointestinal pathology (and often allowed indirect evaluation of other abdominal viscera).

Reference article

This is a summary article; read more in our article on abdominal radiography.

Summary

indications (acute)
- emergent evaluation of bowel gas
  - negative study in some patients may obviate the need for CT
- evaluation of radiopaque lines and tubes
- evaluation of radiopaque foreign bodies
- evaluation of postprocedural free gas
- evaluation of bowel gas in postoperative ileus
important pathology
- bowel obstruction
- sigmoid volvulus
benefits
- quick and accessible
limitations
- modest radiation dose
- low sensitivity and specificity for intra-abdominal pathology
- pregnancy is a relative contraindication
procedure
- patient is supine
- radiograph is performed AP (anteroposterior)
- performed in the radiology department
  - mobile abdominal radiographs are poor quality
  - only performed mobile if the patient is very ill
similar tests
- US abdomen
  - performed for specific indications
    - useful for gallstones
    - useful for liver and renal pathology
- CT abdomen
  - far more sensitive and specific for intra-abdominal pathology
  - significantly greater radiation dose

~~-<a title="US abdomen (summary)" href="/articles/us-abdomen-summary">US abdomen</a><ul><li>performed for specific indications<ul>~~
+<a href="/articles/us-abdomen-summary">US abdomen</a><ul><li>performed for specific indications<ul>
~~-<a title="CT abdomen (summary)" href="/articles/ct-abdomen-summary">CT abdomen</a><ul>~~
+<a href="/articles/ct-abdomen-summary">CT abdomen</a><ul>