A prospective study of the predictive value for in-hospital mortality of mandibulodiaphragmatic distance and mandibular dentition on portable anteroposterior chest radiographs

Conclusions Mandibulodiaphragmatic distance, measured on the portable anteroposterior chest radiograph and applied to the predictive equation developed in this study, is a strong tool for the prediction of in-hospital mortality that could find wide application in clinical practice and provide vital information for risk stratification and resource allocation in a wide variety of acutely ill patients.Over the years, I have been disconcerted by the volume of useless investigation that surfaces in some of our journals. Many of these are correlative studies that have little usefulness other than to pad the investigator's bibliography and to fill journal pages. To follow, you will find a tongue-in-cheek research paper written by Dr. George H. Lindbeck, a colleague of mine, which nicely illustrates this pseudoscientific phenomenon. I think you will enjoy the satire. Theodore E. Keats, M.D.