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Abstract

Objective: Assessment of actual radiograph rejection was the primary goal of this investigation in the imaging facility of a public sector hospital, which was noticeably high during the pandemic as staff members were afraid of infection.
Methods: This retrospective study was carried out in the department of Radiology, LRH from July 2023 to March 2024 during which a total of 47,300 radiographic examinations were conducted. Analysis was performed for the rejected radiographs and their causes respectively.
Results: Our rate of 11% is comparable to the global range of 3.4-14.1% respectively. Of the total rejection, 46.1% rejection was observed in males and 53.9% in females while 69.5% & 30.5% rejection was noticed in adults and pediatric age group respectively. Artifacts (26.2%) was the prime cause of rejection followed by motion (18.8%), positioning (14%), improper collimation (11.7%), exposure errors (8.4%), wrong labeling (6.6%), machine faults (5.7%), detector errors (4.5%), PACS issues (2.5 %) and re-requests from referring physician (1.6%). The highest rejection with respect to anatomical body parts was observed in chest radiography (29.9%), followed by extremities (28.8%), spine (11.4%), KUB (9.9%), skull (8.4%), abdomen (5.5%), pelvis (4.4%), and neck (1.7%) respectively.
Conclusion: Radiograph rejection has reduced considerably but still is a common problem within the facility due to many contributing factors. Implementation of rejection analysis as an integral part of the quality assurance program as well as focusing on staff-centered skill and knowledge upliftment training programs can result in a significant reduction enhancing patient safety.
doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.41.7.11441
How to cite this: Yaseen M, Nishtar T, Ajaj R, Ali A. Enhancing patient safety through radiograph rejection analysis: Insights from a diagnostic imaging department audit. Pak J Med Sci. 2025;41(7):2052-2059. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.41.7.11441
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