Chest X-ray is valuable in the primary care setting in helping
clinicians to confirm the underlying findings of the
respiratory and cardiovascular systems. This view also
includes the lower cervical vertebrae region which is helpful
in elaborating the findings surrounding the neck. However, a
single view of the film may sometimes cause confusion
regarding the exact origin of the abnormal signs of the X-ray
images. Thus, clinical correlation and application of ‘rule of
two’ in X-ray imaging is definitely useful to clarify the
findings and avoiding any misdiagnosis, medical errors and
non-justifiable further investigations. Here we report a case
of an 18-year-old female student with abnormal radiopaque
neck mass seen from her chest the X-ray image. She was
clinically well without any significant clinical findings.
Surprisingly, the findings totally resolved after repeat the Xray at two different occasions within the same week. This
strange abnormal finding was later confirmed to be her hair
tier. She was saved from unnecessary investigations for
tuberculosis and thyroid disorder by repeating the X-ray
(rule of two occasions). Now you see, now you don’t of X-ray
findings is indeed illogical and technical error needs to be
rule out.