| Objective To study the value of window technique in the diagnosis of pneumoconiosis by digital radiography(DR). Methods According to the order of admission, 40 obese or female dust exposed patients in this hospital from Dec 2015 to Dec 2017 were selected and examined by DR according to the requirements of the newest "diagnosis of occupational pneumoconiosis". Then all the images were processed using the window technique. Three radiologists qualified for pneumoconiosis diagnosis performed the diagnosis of all DR images and the difference in diagnostic ability of DR images was analyzed under different window techniques for pneumoconiosis. Results A total of 114(114/120, 95.00%) of the 120 sets of DR chest radiographs were considered to require window technique. According to the window condition in the upper lung area, the accuracy of the pneumoconiosis diagnosed by DR chest radiographs in diagnosis of no-pneumoconiosis, stage I, Ⅱ and Ⅲ pneumoconiosis was 87.50%, 87.50%, 85.00%, 90.00%, respectively, the sensitivity was 100%, 95.24%, 40.00%, 25.00%, respectively, and the specificity was 85.71%, 78.95%, 100.00%, 97.22%, respectively. According to the window condition in the lower lung area, the accuracy of the pneumoconiosis diagnosed by DR chest radiographs in diagnosis of no-pneumoconiosis, stage I, Ⅱ and Ⅲ pneumoconiosis was 80.00%, 67.50%, 87.50%, 95.00%, respectively, the sensitivity was 60.00%, 57.14%, 100.00% and 100.00%, respectively, and the specificity was 82.86%, 78.95%, 85.71%, 94.50%, respectively. The difference in the overall diagnosis of pneumoconiosis between the two sets of windowed DR chest radiographs was statistically significant(P=0.034). There were no significant differences in the diagnosis of stage Ⅱ, Ⅲ pneumoconiosis and no-pneumoconiosis between the two groups of chest radiographs(P>0.05), but there was a significant difference in the diagnosis of stage I pneumoconiosis(P=0.006). Conclusion Adjusting the DR chest window technique can improve the diagnosis of pneumoconiosis. |
