Chest X-ray: Why It Is Done

Content provided by Healthwise

Why It Is Done

A chest X-ray is done to:

• Help find the cause of common symptoms such as a cough, shortness of breath, or chest pain.
• Find lung conditions—such as pneumonia, lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), collapsed lung (pneumothorax), or cystic fibrosis—and monitor treatment for these conditions.
• Find some heart problems, such as an enlarged heart, heart failure, and problems causing fluid in the lungs (pulmonary edema), and to monitor treatment for these conditions.
• Look for problems from a chest injury, such as rib fractures or lung damage.
• Find foreign objects, such as coins or other small pieces of metal, in the tube to the stomach (esophagus), the airway, and the lungs. A chest X-ray may not be able to see food, nuts, or wood fibers. See an X-ray of a coin in the esophagus .
• See if a tube, catheter, or other medical device has been placed in the proper position in a lung, the heart, blood vessels of the chest, or the stomach.

Last updated:	September 11, 2007
Author:	Maria G. Essig, MS, ELS
Reviewed By:	Adam Husney, MD - Family Medicine, Paul D. Traughber, MD - Radiology
Editors:	Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA, Tracy Landauer