Screening for chest disease in college students: policies of student health services regarding the use of routine screening chest radiographs and tuberculin skin tests

Journal Article · Wed Feb 01 00:00:00 EST 1984 · Am. J. Public Health; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.74.2.143· OSTI ID:7006625

Fager, S S; Slap, G B; Kitz, D S; Eisenberg, J M

A survey of college health services was conducted to determine their policies regarding the use of screening chest radiographs and tuberculin skin tests. Pre-enrollment chest radiographs are prescribed for all incoming students by 24% of the 531 respondents and for health professions students, foreign students, and intercollegiate athletes only by an additional 20%, 19%, and 6%, respectively. Periodic chest radiography is conducted for all students by 7% of the respondents and for health professions students, foreign students, and intercollegiate athletes only by an additional 22%, 16%, and 8%, respectively. Pre-enrollment tuberculin skin tests are prescribed for all incoming students by 52% of the respondents and for health professions students, foreign students, and intercollegiate athletes only by an additional 48%, 29%, and 9%, respectively. Periodic tuberculin skin testing is conducted for all students by 27% of the respondents and for health professions students, foreign students, and intercollegiate athletes only by an additional 48%, 23%, and 16%, respectively. It is estimated from these data that 723,000 incoming students in the United States received screening chest radiographs in 1979 with estimated charges totaling between $7 million and $27 million. There may be 0.05 to 0.33 induced cases of lung cancer, leukemia, thyroid cancer, and female breast cancer over a 20-year period among this group of students exposed to ionizing radiation.

• Research Organization: Univ. of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA (United States)
• OSTI ID: 7006625
• Journal Information: Am. J. Public Health; (United States), Vol. 74:2
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE
99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS//MATHEMATICS, COMPUTING, AND INFORMATION SCIENCE
LUNGS
X-RAY RADIOGRAPHY
TUBERCULOSIS
SCREENING
ECONOMIC IMPACT
HEALTH HAZARDS
EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES
HEALTH SERVICES
IMMUNE REACTIONS
SKIN
SURVEYS
BACTERIAL DISEASES
BODY
DISEASES
HAZARDS
INDUSTRIAL RADIOGRAPHY
INFECTIOUS DISEASES
ORGANS
RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
SOCIAL SERVICES
550602* - Medicine- External Radiation in Diagnostics- (1980-)
552000 - Public Health