Findings of periodic thoracic X-ray screening of Israel Defense Forces career personnel

Findings of routine, periodic, medical examinations of approximately 5000 Israel Defense Forces (IDF) career personnel, included a screening postero-anterior chest radiograph were reviewed. Previous studies have indicated low efficacy of routine chest X-rays in various populations. We evaluated this screening test among 4593 career military personnel. Their chest X-rays were reviewed retrospectively and in 186 (4%) there were abnormal findings. The rate of pathological findings was positively correlated with age. Additional information was found in the X-rays of 25 subjects (0.54%), but the original interpretations of 51 (1.1%) were found to be false-positive. In view of the very low yield of findings in routine chest X-rays of IDF career military personnel, we recommend X-ray screening only in high-risk populations and subjects over the age of 50.