Preparing for the test – X-ray

For an X-ray of the lumbosacral spine, you must be fasting and have emptied your bowels. On the day before the test, follow these recommendations:

• breakfast – easily digestible food
• lunch – jelly or a thickened fruit dessert (kisiel), or alternatively a liquid meal
• in the afternoon, at around 16:00, take laxatives (non-herbal)
• take two tablets of Espumisan in the evening and another two in the morning, and drink only water or sugar-free, NON-CARBONATED drinks throughout the day.

However, the test must not be performed on pregnant women.

For other X-ray examinations, there are no special preparation requirements. This is a short test that can be performed at almost any time of day. If necessary, the test can be repeated multiple times. It is performed on people of all ages.

Remember that X-rays in high doses are harmful to the human body, although the test uses low doses and a very short exposure time. However, there is no point in objecting when a doctor requests an X-ray, as the benefits of an accurate diagnosis far outweigh any potential negative effects on health.

About the test

Radiography is an imaging technique that uses X-ray radiation (X-rays). A radiological examination involves passing controlled doses of X-rays through a selected part of the patient’s body (e.g. the chest) onto a perpendicular plane containing an X-ray detector. It is frequently used in medicine, mainly to diagnose conditions affecting the skeletal system. This method uses the human body’s ability to absorb penetrating X-rays. Before the test, X-ray films are placed in light-tight cassettes between two special intensifying screens (known as phosphors), which make the film more sensitive to X-rays and thus allow the radiation dose to be reduced. Radiation passing through the body causes the photographic film to darken. Bone tissue has a much greater capacity to absorb radiation than the surrounding soft tissues, so it appears on the film as an area that has not darkened.

How the test is performed

The patient stands or sits facing a cassette containing photographic film. Before the test, X-ray films are placed in light-tight cassettes. The cassette is always positioned as close as possible to the patient’s body, while the X-ray tube is positioned at a specified distance (usually 2 m). This avoids distortion of the images of the different layers of the patient’s body being exposed. For a chest X-ray, the patient takes a breath and holds it for a few seconds (to prevent the image from becoming blurred). During this time, the radiographer takes the X-ray. The entire test takes just a few minutes.

Purpose of the test

The results of a radiological examination are often decisive in recommending appropriate treatment. They allow abnormalities in the structure or function of the organ being examined to be detected. They help identify the disease process, its nature and how advanced it is. Radiological methods are particularly useful in diagnosing the consequences of injuries, cancer, cardiovascular diseases and changes in bones and joints. They form the basis of treatment in general surgery, cardiac surgery, vascular surgery, neurosurgery, urology and orthopaedics, as they allow indications for surgical treatment to be established.

Indications for the test

• Injuries (fractures or dislocations)
• Changes in bone structure associated with rheumatic or degenerative diseases, or osteoporosis
• Identifying changes in the lungs (the test can detect pulmonary congestion, a build-up of fluid that causes breathlessness and may result from heart disease)
• Looking for signs of heart disease
• Any conditions affecting the chest
• Chest injuries
• Developmental abnormalities of organs
• Pre- and postoperative examinations
• Periodic examinations (chest X-ray) – should be performed every 2 years, and in people at increased risk of lung disease due, for example, to the type of work they do

Diagnosis

1. tuberculosis
2. lung tumours
3. pulmonary emphysema
4. cardiovascular function
5. the size of the heart and aorta
6. fluid in the pleural cavities
7. retrosternal thyroid goitre
8. enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes.

Waiting time for results

The patient receives the result within 3 days of the X-ray examination. The image is analysed by an experienced radiologist, who prepares a report. The results of radiological examinations are provided as a written report, together with a CD.