Want more iVillage? Sign up for our
Newsletters
Computed Tomography (CT) Scan of the Body - What To Think About
About this test
- 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 multi-slice (or
multi-detector) CT scanners are sometimes used for this test. Many modern
scanners are multi-slice 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 multi-slice 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 artery scoring can help find out risk for heart disease. This test is not done very often, because a physical exam and other tests often give enough information about your heart. This test is not advised for routine screening.
- 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.
| By: | Healthwise Staff | Last Revised: May 12, 2010 |
| Medical Review: | Adam Husney, MD - Family Medicine Howard Schaff, MD - Diagnostic Radiology | |
© 1995-2011 Healthwise, Incorporated. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated. This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use. How this information was developed to help you make better health decisions.
Welcome to Care Circle, an exclusive tool to help you take care of yourself and your loved ones. Here's how it works:
- Create profiles for yourself and your loved ones.
- Select the topics and conditions that interest each of you.
- Get customized news updates, original content, tools, and expert advice for each Care Circle member delivered directly to your personalized homepage.
The information you input is strictly private; you choose who has access to your Care Circle.
How do I add myself or someone else to my care circle?
Click on "Add someone." Fill out the short profile. Choose an avatar. Select the topics and conditions that interest this person from the pulldown menu. You can select as many as you want, but you must choose at least one. Click on "Add Someone" again. You should start getting updates immediately.
How do I save content to my Care Circle?
Click on "Manage My Care Circle." Select the tab of the person for whom you're saving content. Put your cursor over the piece of content that you want to save; a disk icon will appear in the righthand corner. Click on the disk and the piece of content will be moved to a save folder.
How do I add additional topics and conditions for someone in my Care Circle?
Click on "Manage My Care Circle." Select the tab for the person whose preferences you'd like to update. Under "Add More to Follow," select additional topics and conditions.
How do I delete topics and conditions for someone in my Care Circle?
Click on "Manage My Care Circle." Select the tab for the person whose preferences you'd like to update. Under "Follows," scroll over the topic or condition you want to delete. An "X" should appear on the righthand side. Click on the "X" and the topic or condition will be deleted from the list.
To manage your Care Circle, Please
Sign In.
from
- Facebook is now fueling organ donations
- Military women and suicide: Home safe but not sound
- Still in gear: Injuries don’t stop veterans on 100-day bike trek
- Ask Jenna: I've hit a weight loss plateau. What do I do?
- He poses in a tutu to laugh in face of wife's cancer
- After chemo hair loss, 'henna crowns' help heal
The iVillage Network