Computed Tomography (CT) Scan Of The Body: What To Think About

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What To Think About

• Sometimes your CT test results may be different than those from other types of X-ray tests, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), or ultrasound scans because the CT scan provides a different view.
• Children who need a CT scan may need special instructions for the test. The child will likely need to hold his or her breath during the scan. If the child is too young to hold still or is afraid, the doctor may give the child a medicine (sedative) to help him or her relax.
• If your child is scheduled for a CT scan, talk with your child's doctor about the need for the scan and the risk of radiation exposure to your child.
• Special CT scanners called spiral (helical) CT scanners and multislice (or multidetector) CT scanners are sometimes used for this test. Many modern scanners are multislice scanners. These scanners can be used for many conditions, such as finding kidney stones, a pulmonary embolism, an enlarged prostate gland, or atherosclerosis. These special CT scanners can:
  • Take better pictures of blood vessels and organs so other imaging tests may not be needed.
  • Complete scans and provide pictures in less time.
• CT results are often compared to positron emission tomography (PET) results to help find cancer. Some new scanners do both scans at the same time.
• An electron beam CT scan is another type of CT scan that can find atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease. An electron beam CT scan is much faster than a standard CT scan and can take a good picture of a coronary artery while the heart is beating. Electron beam CT scans are not widely available. Another type of CT scanner, the multislice CT scan, is nearly as fast as electron beam CT scanners and is more widely available.
• A CT angiogram can show two- and three-dimensional pictures of blood vessels. For more information, see the medical test Angiogram of the Head and Neck.
• Cardiac calcium scoring can help find out if you have coronary artery disease (CAD) and may predict whether you will have symptoms of CAD. To find your score, a CT scan helps your doctor measure calcification, or plaque, in your coronary arteries, which supply blood to the heart. If you have a high coronary artery calcium score, you may need more tests to check if you have CAD or to find out how severe it is, especially if you have other risk factors for CAD. Cardiac calcium scoring is not advised for routine screening, because it can show that you may have plaque in your coronary arteries even if you do not have CAD.
• MRI may give different information than a CT scan about certain conditions. For more information, see the medical test Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI).
• Experts disagree about the use of a CT method called full-body scanning to screen for coronary artery disease and cancers. Full-body scanning is expensive, can lead to unnecessary tests or surgery, and may increase the chance of cancer from the radiation exposure. Most doctors do not recommend these studies unless a person has a specific risk for a certain disease.

Last updated:	July 19, 2007
Author:	Maria G. Essig, MS, ELS
Reviewed By:	Adam Husney, MD - Family Medicine, Paul D. Traughber, MD - Radiology
Editors:	Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA, Tracy Landauer