Determination of rejection rate and factors associated with rejection of conventional plain X-ray films at the Department of Radiology, Mulago National Referral Hospital

Abstract

Background: Reject plain X-ray film analysis can be used as a quality indicator and is an important tool in localizing areas where optimization is required. Reduction in the number of rejects is important because it reduces the effects of radiation exposure and increases efficiency in health care service delivery.

Purpose: To find out the rejection rate of films and to identify factors that contributed to the rejection of films at the department of Radiology, Mulago National Referral Hospital.

Material and methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out and descriptive data were collected from March to June 2020 using a structured format on which relevant data from rejected films were recorded. The results were then collected and entered into Microsoft Excel for univariate analysis from July to August 2020 and descriptive statistics generated were presented in frequency distribution tables, graphs, and pie-charts.

Results: The overall reject rate was 18.9%. Chest films contributed 9.5% of the total rejection rate. 57.9% of the errors leading to film rejection were performed by radiographers with less than one year of practicing experience and the highest cause of rejection was over exposure (34.4%).

Conclusions and recommendations: The findings from this study showed that the overall rejection rate was higher than the recommended 5% by WHO and up to 10% by CRPD. We therefore recommend that quality assurance and quality control programs should be put in place for optimization of service delivery.