The relevance of pre-employment chest X-Ray examination in Anabra State, Southeast Nigeria

Between April 2000 and may 2003 a total of 198 candidates were referred to the department of radiology for chest x-ray examination as a pre-employment request, of these 28 were males and 117 females. Adults who gain employment are required to undergo medical examination to confirm their fitness. A major medical examination is the chest x-ray, which investigates the condition of the heart with respect to the size, shape and position and the lung fields in order to emphasize any pathology. There were no soft tissue lesions and the bony rib cages of the candidates were all normal. In the studies of 198 cases, chest radiology of all candidates was reported normal. The result queries the authenticity and reasonability of this mandatory requirement as gene-mutation leading to cancer may result due to radiation exposure. This finding calls for caution in mandatory pre-employment medical assessment since multi radiation exposure may be an initiative step of the multi-stage process of cancer progression.Journal of Biomedical Investigation Vol. 5 (1) 2007: pp. 17-2