Reporting of fracture radiographs by radiographers: the impact of a training programme

Abstract

In order to determine what influence training would have on their ability to interpret skeletal radiographs from the accident and emergency department, a 6 months training programme was established for three radiographers in various aspects of the radiology of orthopaedics and skeletal trauma. During the study the radiographers reported on radiographs from the accident and emergency department and each month an evaluation of their accuracy was undertaken. The overall radiographer error rate for fracture detection (false positive and false negative) declined during the training period. This was highly significant (p < 0.001). The sensitivity for fracture detection improved from 81.1% at the commencement of the trial to 95.9% at the end. This was also highly significant (p < 0.001). Radiographer specificity for the exclusion of fractures also improved from 94.4% during the first 2 months to 96.6% in the final 2 months, and this was also significant (p < 0.05). The overall error rate of two of the t...