Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42564535›Full record

ArticleJournal of the colleges of medicine of South Africa2026

The impact of technical factors on the chest radiographic findings in COVID-19 pneumonia.

Zukiswa Sobetwa, Stephanie Griffith-Richards, Martin Kidd, Richard D Pitcher

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In one paragraph

Article in Journal of the colleges of medicine of South Africa, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Zukiswa SobetwaDivision of Radiodiagnosis, Department of Medical Imaging and Clinical Oncology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0008-9059-5760
Stephanie Griffith-RichardsDivision of Radiodiagnosis, Department of Medical Imaging and Clinical Oncology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7031-8108
Martin KiddCentre for Statistical Consultation, Stellenbosch Business School, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4887-7296
Richard D PitcherDivision of Radiodiagnosis, Department of Medical Imaging and Clinical Oncology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3910-0749

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Published coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) chest X-ray (CXR) severity scoring systems do not consider the impact of technical factors on radiographic findings. This study aimed to describe the technical features of COVID-19 pneumonia CXRs, determine their impact on CXR interpretation and reappraise published COVID-19 CXR severity scoring systems based on these findings. Methods: Admission frontal CXRs of 100 consecutive adults with proven COVID-19 pneumonia were analysed for technical features (projection, inspiratory excursion, exposure, vertical rotation) and pulmonary opacification. Descriptive statistics were evaluated. Kendall's coefficient of concordance was used to assess observer agreement. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to determine the association between technical factors and opacification. Levene's test for homogeneity-of-variance and the Welch test were conducted where applicable. For inspiratory excursion, correlations were also calculated. Findings informed a review of published COVID-19 CXR severity scoring systems. Results: Poor inspiratory excursion obscured the lower lung zones in 41 cases and was associated with increased opacification in the visible (mid and upper) zones. Under- ( Conclusion: Published COVID-19 CXR severity scoring systems could be refined by appropriate consideration of inspiratory excursion and penetration. More broadly, technical considerations should inform all CXR interpretation. Contribution: This study advocates incorporating technical factor assessment into CXR severity scoring systems.

Indexed as

chest radiographychest X-rayCOVID-19CXR severity scoring systemsSARS-CoV-2South Africatechnical factors on chest x-ray

Identifiers

PMID42564535
PMCPMC13443873

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.