Factors associated with junior doctor plain trauma X-ray interpretation accuracy and strategies for improvement: a scoping review
Abstract
Background: Plain radiography is a key diagnostic tool for trauma patients in emergency departments, often requiring immediate interpretation so that urgent care is not delayed. Due to difficulty in accessing timely radiologist reports and the demand for rapid decision-making, emergency department doctors, including junior doctors, have, over the years, been involved in the initial interpretation of plain trauma X-rays. However, concerns remain about the accuracy of these junior doctors, which may impact patient safety. Despite its significance, there's a notable gap in knowledge on the factors that influence their accuracy and strategies to improve their accuracy. This review explored these specific factors and strategies.
Method: A scoping review was conducted following the framework by Arksey and O'Malley as updated by Levac, Colquhoun, and O'Brien. Searches were performed in PubMed, SCOPUS, Embase, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar and through reference list search of eligible studies from a timeframe of 1985 to August 2025. A narrative approach was employed to describe findings after content analysis of eligible studies.
Results: Nine articles were ultimately included. The factors identified were emergency department clinical experience, anatomical site-specific interpretation, radiographic image-related factors, time and mechanism of traumatic injury. Further, plain trauma X-ray interpretation training, emergency department clinical experience with a teaching programme…
Read the paper
Related studies
- The potential and limitations of neutrons, electrons and X-rays for atomic resolution microscopy of unstained biological molecules
- X-ray-Computed Tomography Contrast Agents
- Reactivity of Surface Species in Heterogeneous Catalysts Probed by In Situ X-ray Absorption Techniques
- Single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies on structural transformations of porous coordination polymers
- Investigation of solid/vapor interfaces using ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy
- Resonant X-Ray Scattering Studies of Charge Order in Cuprates
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.