Monday, December 15, 2008

Brain Scan

Recently, a women came into the ER with a severe headache. This was her only complaint and this headache was of sudden onset. The doctor ordered a CT head w/o contrast. When checking the images, the technologist who performed the exam noticed an area that looked abnormal in the lower right quadrant of the brain. It was not very noticeable to me, if noticeable at all. This technologist called the radiologist to mention the findings. After looking at the images, the radiologist ordered a CT head w/ contrast. The patient was given contrast and the abnormal area became very bright and noticeable. This patient was diagnosed with a brain tumor. This was a very good observation by the technologist. Because the technologist noticed this abnormality while the patient was still on the table, she did not have to be moved and her diagnoses was not delayed. It was very interesting what a huge difference the contrast made to the exam.