Cranial CT scan

A cranial CT scan is computed tomography of the head, including the skull, brain, orbits (eye sockets), and sinuses.

A head CT will produce an image from the upper neck to the top of the head. If the patient cannot keep still, immobilization may be necessary. All jewelry, glasses, dentures, and other metal should be removed from the head and neck to prevent obstruction of the images.

A contrast dye may be injected into a vein to further evaluate a mass (the mass becomes brighter with contrast dye if it has a lot of blood vessels). Contrast dye is also used to produce an image of the blood vessels of the head and brain.

The total amount of time in the CT scanner is usually a few minutes.

Generally, there is no preparation necessary.

Infants and children:

The preparation you can provide for this test depends on your child's age, previous experiences, and level of trust. For general information regarding how you can prepare your child, see the following topics:

• Infant test or procedure preparation (birth to 1 year)
• Toddler test or procedure preparation (1 to 3 years)
• Preschooler test or procedure preparation (3 to 6 years)
• Schoolage test or procedure preparation (6 to 12 years)
• Adolescent test or procedure preparation (12 to 18 years)

As with any intravenous iodinated contrast injection, there may be a slight temporary burning sensation in the arm, metallic taste in the mouth, or whole body warmth. This is a normal occurrence and will subside in a few seconds.

Otherwise, the CT scan is painless.

A CT scan is recommended to help:

• Evaluate acute cranial-facial trauma
• Determine acute stroke
• Evaluate suspected subarachnoid or intracranial hemorrhage
• Evaluate headache
• Evaluate loss of sensory or motor function
• Determine if there abnormal development of the head and neck

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