CT of the head in trauma
Author:
Mikael Häggström [notes 1]
Planning
Choice of modality
CT of the head in trauma, without IV contrast, is the first choice of investigation.
Indications
In adults, indications mainly include altered mental status, post-traumatic seizure, focal neurologic deficit, vomiting and/or anticoagulant medication.[1] There are various scoring systems for the decision (CCHR (Canadian), NICE (UK), NOC (US)), but for the radiologist it is extremely rare to deny a trauma CT of the head if suggested by a clinician, since it is generally a non-contrast procedure with relatively low radiation dose and fast evaluation.
Settings
Processed images should include thin slices (0.5 - 1.5 mm) in order to better evaluate any skeletal damage.[2]
Notes
- ↑ For a full list of contributors, see article history. Creators of images are attributed at the image description pages, seen by clicking on the images. See Radlines:Authorship for details.
References
- ↑ UK: . Head Injury - Algorithm 1: Selection of adults for CT head scan. NICE. 2014
- ↑ Maetani, Kazuhide; Namiki, Jun; Matsumoto, Shokei; Matsunami, Katsutoshi; Narumi, Atsushi; Tsuneyoshi, Toshimi; Kishikawa, Masanobu (2016). "Routine Head Computed Tomography for Patients in the Emergency Room with Trauma Requires Both Thick- and Thin-Slice Images ". Emergency Medicine International 2016: 1–4. doi:. ISSN 2090-2840.
