eng Science and Education Publishing American Journal of Public Health Research 2327-6703 2018-03-22 6 2 106 110 10.12691/ajphr-6-2-13 AJPHR20186213 article Phanumas Krisorn 1 Naesinee Chaiear naesinee@kku.ac.th 1 Ponglada Subhannachart 2 Narongpon Dumavibhat 3 Sutarat Tungsagunwattana 3 Division of Occupational Medicine, Department of Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University Central Chest Institute of Thailand, Department of Medical Services, Ministry of Public Health Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University Objective: This study aimed to examine the sensitivity and specificity of occupational health doctors (OHDs)' reading of early-stage pneumoconiosis radiographs. Materials and Methods: A screening test was applied, and 33 OHDs consented to participate in the study. There were atotal of 67 chest radiographs, which consisted of normal and early-stage pneumoconiosis film. The cut-point for disease was set at profusion0/1 and 1/0. Mean sensitivity and specificity for small opacity detection were analyzed. Results: The median sensitivity of ILO profusion of 0/1 or above was 88% (IQR 10.3), and the median sensitivity of film with a 1/0 cutoff pointwas slightly higher at90% (IQR 10.3).The average specificity for ILO profusion of 0/1 or above was 43.3% (SD21.1). Upon increasing the cut-point at profusion1/0, the average specificity increased to 47.0% (SD 20.9). Conclusion: This study showed that occupational health doctors were able to interpret chest radiographs of workers with early-stage pneumoconiosis. This indicates that the development of OHDs' chest X-ray reading skillsis valuable in order to improve the national pneumoconiosis surveillance system. http://pubs.sciepub.com/ajphr/6/2/13/ajphr-6-2-13.pdf silicosis ILO classification chest radiograph sensitivity occupational health doctor