What are the benefits versus risks?
Benefits

• No radiation remains in a patient's body after an x-ray examination.
• X-rays usually have no side effects.
• X-ray equipment is relatively inexpensive and widely available in physician offices, ambulatory care centers, nursing homes and other locations, making it convenient for both patients and physicians.
• Because x-ray imaging is fast and easy, it is particularly useful in emergency diagnosis and treatment.
  

Risks

• There is always a slight chance of cancer from radiation. However, the benefit of an accurate diagnosis far outweighs the risk.
• The chest x-ray is one of the lowest radiation exposure medical examinations performed today. The effective radiation dose from this procedure is about 0.1 mSv, which is about the same as the average person receives from background radiation in 10 days. See the Safety page for more information about radiation dose.
• Women should always inform their physician or x-ray technologist if there is any possibility that they are pregnant. See the Safety page for more information about pregnancy and x-rays.

What are the limitations of Chest X-ray?
The chest x-ray is a very useful examination, but it has limitations. Because some conditions of the chest cannot be detected on an x-ray image, this examination cannot necessarily rule out all problems in the chest. For example, very small cancers may not show up on a chest x-ray. A blood clot in the lungs, a condition called a pulmonary embolism, cannot be seen on chest x-rays.