The value of the chest radiograph in reporting aerosol ventilation-perfusion scans

It has become accepted practice to have a chest radiograph (CXR) available for reference at the time of reporting a ventilation-perfusion (V/Q) scan. We designed a study to determine whether the availability of a CXR altered the interpretation of V/Q scans in our unit. One hundred consecutive V/Q scans were reported with and without reference to a CXR by two radiologists and two nuclear physicians. The V/Q reports were then compared. Our results show that the availability of a CXR has no effect on the V/Q scan report.