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CT of head
Indications:
- intracranial bleed
- epidural hemorrhage
- subdural hemorrhage
- intracerebral hemorrhage
- subarachnoid hemorrhage
- intracranial tumor/intracranial mass lesion
- rule out intracranial mass lesion prior to lumbar puncture
- head injury
- skull fracture
- epidural or subdural hematoma
* MRI is the imaging modality of choice for examination of intracranial structures
Clinical significance:
- independent predictors of abnormal head CT in the absence of head injury
- older age
- nausea/vomiting
- altered mental status
- focal neurological deficit
- cancer history
- coagulopathy [1]
Complications:
- increasing risk of brain cancer associated with increasing radiation dose to the brain from CT examinations [2]
- for a single head CT, risk of brain cancer is 0.01% [2]
Notes:
- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a utilization measure for head CT in the emergency department in the absence of head injury, but the measure has met with strong criticism [1]
Specific
CT for cerebral perfusion analysis
CT of orbit
CT of skull base
General
computerized tomography (CT)
neuroimaging
References
- Wang X and You JJ.
Head CT for nontrauma patients in the emergency department:
Clinical predictors of abnormal findings.
Radiology 2013 Mar; 266:783
PMID: 23204540
- Bassett M
Higher Brain Cancer Risk After CT Exam in Childhood
Study suggests one radiation-induced brain cancer expected per 10,000 persons
receiving a head CT.
MedPage Today December 9, 2022
https://www.medpagetoday.com/hematologyoncology/braincancer/102180
- Hauptmann M, Brynnes G, Cardis E et al
Brain cancer after radiation exposure from CT examinations of children and
young adults: results from the EPI-CT cohort study.
Lancet Oncology. 2022. Dec 6;S1470-2045(22)00655-6.
PMID: 36493793
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanonc/article/PIIS1470-2045(22)00655-6/fulltext
Component-of
CT of head & cervical spine
CT of head & neck
CT of head & temporal bone