Fluorography than differs from X-rays: procedures, effectiveness and feedback

X-ray studies have become firmly established in the practice of medical examination and diagnosis. The availability and informative nature of these methods have made them ubiquitous, and some even mandatory for preventive purposes. Fluorography is a survey that every citizen of our country is required to undergo once a year at the age of 18 to prevent diseases, and this is the one that causes the most criticism because of the fear of exposure. Is there any reason to be afraid of it? And than differs a roentgenography from a roentgen of lungs?

What is X-ray?

X-rays are a kind of electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength of 0.005 to 10 nanometers. According to the characteristics, they somewhat coincide with gamma rays, but they have different origins. There are 2 types of radiation - soft and hard. The latter is used in medicine for diagnostic purposes.

Since X-rays can not be focused, a radiating tube is guided to the patient during the examination and a receiving sensitive screen is placed behind it. Then the image will be removed from it.

In polyclinics with a preventive purpose, fluorography is performed. How is this survey different from the X-ray? When the rays are directly passed, the structure of the organ is displayed on the screen, and in the case of fluorography, its shadow reflected from the fluorescent screen is removed. Apparatus for these types of research differ in design.

Definition of fluorography

Fluorography - chest X-ray examination, in which the image in the image is obtained by the reflected method. In the last decade, a digital version of the survey becomes common, in which instead of taking a picture, the result is immediately displayed on the computer screen, and then a description is made.

Indications for examination

This method is used for screening purposes, that is, if necessary, to survey a large number of people in order to obtain results of a high degree of reliability in a short time. The detection of cases of tuberculosis is the main goal for which mandatory fluorography was once introduced. What is different from x-rays is this examination technically, so this is a low resolution. However, it can detect the presence of foreign bodies, fibrosis, developed inflammation, tumors, cavities and the presence of infiltrates (seals).

Radiography of the lungs

Chest X-ray is a non-invasive method for examining tissues and organs using the same rays. The result is displayed on a film snapshot. This examination is also radiological. What is the difference between fluorography and chest X-ray for a common citizen is the size of the finished result - instead of a small indistinct square, a developed film 35 x 35 cm is produced.

Indications for X-ray of lungs

Radiography as a more detailed examination is prescribed to detect inflammatory processes, anomalies of anatomical structures, with suspected tumors of various types. It is rarely used to see the location of the heart relative to other organs of the mediastinum. What is the difference between fluorography and X-rays? The difference lies in the informative nature of the images and the detail of the resulting image. The classical radiograph allows you to see objects (seals, cavities, foreign bodies) up to 5 mm in diameter, fluorography also shows predominantly large changes. In complex diagnostic cases, only an extended examination will be used.

Doses of radiation exposure

Many are concerned about the health hazards of the surveys. Patients are afraid that the passage of routine or preventive examination can affect their body negatively. Certain harm from x-ray exposure, of course, is, but not so serious. The permissible dose of irradiation per year without damage to health is 5 mSv (millisievert). With film radiography, a single dose is 0.1 mSv, which is 50 times less than the annual norm. A slightly higher irradiation is provided by fluorography. What is different from X-rays is examination, so it is the rigidity of rays passing through the body, because of what a single dose increases to 0.5 mSv. In comparison with the allowable irradiation during the year, this is still not so much.

Digital technology on film replacement

The development of medical equipment affected, among other things, the quality of X-ray equipment. Everywhere digital devices are being introduced instead of the installations made in the last century, which only output the result on film. For patients, this innovation is good in that the radiation doses are markedly reduced. For digital research, less exposure is needed than for film. All known "hold your breath" during the examination is due to the fact that when you inhale soft tissues are shifted, "smearing" the shadows in the picture. And after all with a film result the fluorography is basically done.

What is different from the X-ray, made by the usual method, examination on a digital apparatus? In the first place - the reduction of radiation exposure. The effective equivalent dose obtained during digital fluorography is 0.05 mSv. A similar parameter for chest x-ray is 0.075 mSv (instead of the standard 0.15 mSv). Therefore, in order to preserve health, it is more expedient to choose more modern methods of examination.

Saving time is the second answer to the question of what distinguishes fluorography from lung X-rays performed in a digital version. To get a result, you do not need to wait for the development of the image, so that the specialist can then describe it.

Which method to choose?

Some people, after receiving a referral for a prophylactic annual examination, do not know what to choose - X-rays or lung fluorography. If there are no complaints about the work of the respiratory system, then there is not much point in making a large picture. If there is an opportunity to make a digital fluorography - do it, it will save the body from an extra dose of radiation.

A doctor who suspects pneumonia or a serious disease of the mediastinum does not have the right to make a final diagnosis without confirmation by an instrumental examination. In the presence of pathologies, questions about what is best - lung X-rays or fluorography, therapists and pulmonologists are not asked. For them, every detail that research can give is important. Therefore, with a developed clinical picture of pneumonia, a suspicion of tuberculosis or a patient's tumor process is sent to the X-ray, more often in several projections.

If there is a history of lung disease, for example, the patient actively smokes or his work is associated with harm to the respiratory tract (welding, metal casting, chemical industry), the examination should be done regularly to prevent serious pathologies from developing. To workers of tuberculosis dispensaries and hospitals twice a year is required fluorography or chest X-ray. What to choose, your doctor will tell.

Contraindications for examination

Due to the radiation effect on the body, X-ray examination by certain categories of patients should be done with caution or not done at all.

Individual organs react sharply to radiation, giving clinical pathology. The sex cells are especially sensitive, therefore it is not recommended to irradiate the pelvic area excessively. X-rays affect the cells of the red bone marrow, disrupting their division and growth. Thyroid and thymus glands are also sensitive to all types of radiation, so when testing you need to keep your neck above the level of the radiating tube.

Categorically it is not recommended to do X-rays to pregnant women, as it affects the development of the tissues and organs of the fetus. An exception is made only in case of a threat to the life of the future mother. Extensive x-rays are not recommended for children under 12 years of age, but are allowed to take pictures of the limbs and maxillofacial area using protective measures.