Chest x-ray airway (summary)

This is a basic article for medical students and other non-radiologists

Chest x-ray review is a key competency for medical students, junior doctors and other allied health professionals. Using A, B, C, D, E is a helpful and systematic method for chest x-ray review where A refers to the assessment of the airways.

Reference article

This is a summary article; we do not have a more in-depth reference article.

Summary

  • introduction
    • airway assessment often overlooked
  • procedure
    • start at the top of the film
    • find the trachea in the midline
    • trace it down to the carina
    • trace the right main bronchus
    • return the carina and trace the left main bronchus
    • the angle between the two should be between 50° and 100°
  • checklist
    • is the trachea straight and midline?
    • is there any evidence of narrowing?
    • is the carina wide (more than 100°)?
Medical student radiology curriculum