Use of chest radiography in pediatric intensive care unit

Aims: To review the use of chest radiography in pediatric intensive care unit. Source of data: Original and review articles in Medline/PubMed and Lilacs databases, using the key words: health professionals, x-ray/x-rays, chest; pediatric intensive care unit. Summary of findings: Chest X-ray is the most used exam in Pediatrics. It makes possible to help and determine diagnoses, to locate tubes, catheters and probes, to analyze thoracic condition pre and post medical procedures and to evaluate clinical evolution by x-rays. Children admitted to intensive care units are subjected to numerous chest x-rays, considerably increasing their exposure dose. Knowledge of the chest radiological technique has proven important in reducing radiation dose, image artifacts and misdiagnosis. Conclusions: Chest x-ray is recognized as a very important tool in the evaluation and management of the daily routine of the pediatric intensive care unit. To perform only the necessary radiographic views is important, in order to minimize radiation doses. For most clinical indications, a simple frontal image of the chest is enough.