Abdominal X-ray Series (acute, with chest view)

The acute abdominal series is a set of X-rays taken in more than one body position — lying down, and upright or on the side — plus a single chest view. Changing position is the whole point: gas and fluid move, and where they settle is what reveals a blocked or perforated bowel. It is usually ordered urgently for sudden, severe abdominal pain.

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What it is

A single flat picture of the abdomen shows the outlines of bowel, the shadows of liver and kidneys, and the lower spine. What it cannot show is which way things are pointing, and in an acute abdomen that is exactly the information needed. Gas rises and fluid sinks, so taking the same abdomen lying flat and then upright — or, if someone is too unwell to stand, lying on one side — turns gas into a diagnostic marker. Loops of bowel with flat fluid levels stacked in them suggest an obstruction. The chest view included in the series is not about the lungs: taken upright, it is the most sensitive plain film for a thin crescent of free air trapped under the diaphragm, which is the sign of a perforation.

Why it is done

To evaluate sudden, severe abdominal pain in the emergency setting
To look for a bowel obstruction, using the pattern of gas and fluid levels across the different positions
To look for free air outside the bowel, the sign that something has perforated
To investigate persistent unexplained vomiting
To check the position of a feeding tube or a drainage tube

What to expect

There is no preparation, which is part of why it is used in emergencies. You undress to a gown and remove metal. The technologist takes one exposure with you flat on your back on the table, then repositions you — standing or sitting upright against a plate if you can manage it, or rolled onto your side and given several minutes to lie there so gas has time to move before the exposure. The chest view is taken upright. Each exposure asks for a held breath and stillness. The whole series usually takes ten to fifteen minutes, longer if moving is painful. Plain films often narrow the question rather than settle it, and a CT of the abdomen frequently follows.

Questions worth asking

Will a CT of the abdomen be ordered regardless? If so, ask whether this series adds anything before both appear on the bill.
Is the chest view part of this code's price, or billed as its own chest X-ray?
In the emergency department, the facility charge usually dwarfs the imaging — what level is this visit being billed at?
If the films are repeated over the next day or two to follow an obstruction, is each set charged at full price?

What Abdominal X-ray Series (acute, with chest view) costs by state

Abdominal X-ray Series (acute, with chest view) cost in Texas — 110 hospitals, median $434.70
Abdominal X-ray Series (acute, with chest view) cost in California — 89 hospitals, median $478.40
Abdominal X-ray Series (acute, with chest view) cost in Florida — 73 hospitals, median $1,368.51
Abdominal X-ray Series (acute, with chest view) cost in Ohio — 68 hospitals, median $471.75
Abdominal X-ray Series (acute, with chest view) cost in Illinois — 51 hospitals, median $558.60
Abdominal X-ray Series (acute, with chest view) cost in Virginia — 43 hospitals, median $494.50
Abdominal X-ray Series (acute, with chest view) cost in Tennessee — 38 hospitals, median $99.20
Abdominal X-ray Series (acute, with chest view) cost in Wisconsin — 33 hospitals, median $391.38
Abdominal X-ray Series (acute, with chest view) cost in Pennsylvania — 32 hospitals, median $504.00
Abdominal X-ray Series (acute, with chest view) cost in Washington — 32 hospitals, median $383.60
Abdominal X-ray Series (acute, with chest view) cost in Iowa — 29 hospitals, median $327.60
Abdominal X-ray Series (acute, with chest view) cost in Michigan — 27 hospitals, median $389.00
Abdominal X-ray Series (acute, with chest view) cost in Indiana — 26 hospitals, median $340.20
Abdominal X-ray Series (acute, with chest view) cost in Georgia — 25 hospitals, median $418.70
Abdominal X-ray Series (acute, with chest view) cost in Arizona — 23 hospitals, median $208.17
Abdominal X-ray Series (acute, with chest view) cost in Kentucky — 22 hospitals, median $693.00
Abdominal X-ray Series (acute, with chest view) cost in New Jersey — 22 hospitals, median $125.23
Abdominal X-ray Series (acute, with chest view) cost in Missouri — 21 hospitals, median $338.80
Abdominal X-ray Series (acute, with chest view) cost in New York — 21 hospitals, median $125.84
Abdominal X-ray Series (acute, with chest view) cost in Minnesota — 19 hospitals, median $275.20
Abdominal X-ray Series (acute, with chest view) cost in Oklahoma — 18 hospitals, median $366.60
Abdominal X-ray Series (acute, with chest view) cost in Colorado — 17 hospitals, median $1,300.50
Abdominal X-ray Series (acute, with chest view) cost in West Virginia — 17 hospitals, median $299.50
Abdominal X-ray Series (acute, with chest view) cost in North Carolina — 15 hospitals, median $420.08
Abdominal X-ray Series (acute, with chest view) cost in Nebraska — 13 hospitals, median $385.00
Abdominal X-ray Series (acute, with chest view) cost in Oregon — 13 hospitals, median $338.25
Abdominal X-ray Series (acute, with chest view) cost in Arkansas — 11 hospitals, median $315.25
Abdominal X-ray Series (acute, with chest view) cost in Kansas — 11 hospitals, median $1,213.90
Abdominal X-ray Series (acute, with chest view) cost in Mississippi — 11 hospitals, median $144.00
Abdominal X-ray Series (acute, with chest view) cost in South Carolina — 11 hospitals, median $573.60
Abdominal X-ray Series (acute, with chest view) cost in Maine — 7 hospitals, median $645.15
Abdominal X-ray Series (acute, with chest view) cost in Alaska — 5 hospitals, median $986.70
Abdominal X-ray Series (acute, with chest view) cost in South Dakota — 5 hospitals, median $571.20
Abdominal X-ray Series (acute, with chest view) cost in Nevada — 4 hospitals, median $608.65
Abdominal X-ray Series (acute, with chest view) cost in North Dakota — 4 hospitals, median $512.80
Abdominal X-ray Series (acute, with chest view) cost in Wyoming — 4 hospitals, median $347.07
Abdominal X-ray Series (acute, with chest view) cost in Hawaii — 2 hospitals, median $222.40
Abdominal X-ray Series (acute, with chest view) cost in Maryland — 2 hospitals, median $142.80
Abdominal X-ray Series (acute, with chest view) cost in Montana — 2 hospitals, median $355.20
Abdominal X-ray Series (acute, with chest view) cost in New Mexico — 2 hospitals, median $476.70
Abdominal X-ray Series (acute, with chest view) cost in Louisiana — 1 hospitals, median $254.54
Abdominal X-ray Series (acute, with chest view) cost in New Hampshire — 1 hospitals, median $710.60

Abdominal X-ray Series (acute, with chest view) prices at hospitals

See every published price for Abdominal X-ray Series (acute, with chest view): the full national range, the state and hospital breakdowns, and which hospitals charge the least.

Abdominal X-ray Series (acute, with chest view) cost — see all prices →

Sources

MedlinePlus: Abdominal x-ray (opens in a new tab, leaves healthcosts.net)
MedlinePlus: Chest x-ray (opens in a new tab, leaves healthcosts.net)

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