Thoracic Radiology

The chest imaging section at GW focuses on the radiographic and CT detection of thoracic disease. The day begins at 8 AM with the interpretation of overnight chest radiographs. Emphasis is placed on both establishing proper technique in interpreting chest radiographs and understanding the pathophysiology and imaging characteristics of lung disease. First years generally rotate for two 4 week blocks on Chest during their first year; the first rotation is predominately devoted to radiograph interpretation while the second rotation involves a greater exposure to chest CT with an eye towards call readiness. Upper level residents return periodically and many R4s choose to perform a mini-fellowship in Chest Imaging.

Case load consists of ER, inpatient, and outpatient studies. The patient population at GW is quite diverse and while pathology such as lung cancer, pneumonia and pulmonary emboli are common, the large international and HIV populations in DC result in a wide variety of rare and advanced infectious disease. The GW pulmonology department frequently orders high-resolution chest CTs for evaluation of interstitial lung disease. CABG, valve replacement, aortic repair and ECMO cannulation are complex post-operative pathology seen regularly. Outpatient cases also consist of low-dose lung cancer screening, pulmonary nodule and oncology follow-up. Formal multidisciplinary thoracic tumor board occurs weekly. There is also informal case-conference/discussion held weekly with Dr. Lichtenberger and the inpatient Pulmonology service.

Residents also rotate through cardiac imaging beginning their second year. This rotation is performed in tandem with our cardiology department and focuses on gated cardiac CT and cardiac MRI. Specific studies include coronary CTA, coronary calcium scoring, pulmonary vein mapping and pre-TAVR planning studies.

Schedule

8 AM - 5 PM

R1s rotate for 6-8 weeks in preparation for call

R2-R4s rotate for an average of 4 weeks/year. Many R4s choose to do their mini-fellowship in Chest Imaging