University of Massachusetts Medical School Faculty Publications
Title
Role of noncontrast head CT in the assessment of vascular abnormalities in the emergency room
UMMS Affiliation
Department of Radiology
Publication Date
2013-12-01
Document Type
Article
Disciplines
Emergency Medicine | Radiology
Abstract
Noncontrast CT of the head is a widely used noninvasive investigation for a variety of acute and chronic neurological conditions. Since CT head without contrast is usually the first and often the only investigation in the emergency room for many neurological symptoms, it is imperative to detect subtle vascular changes, which in many patients can be life-saving. The vascular abnormalities may present with increased density and/or size of the vessels, filling defects, and be associated with parenchymal and bony changes. In this article, we present examples of several vascular pathologies which can be identified on the noncontrast CT of the head, and learn imaging and interpretation techniques to help recognize what often are nebulous changes. While some of the findings are diagnostic by themselves and others subtle, any suspicious abnormality should be followed with dedicated vascular imaging such as CT/MR angiogram, venogram, or catheter angiogram for confirmation and better characterization.
DOI of Published Version
10.1007/s10140-013-1136-6
Source
Takhtani D, Dundamadappa S, Almast J. Role of noncontrast head CT in the assessment of vascular abnormalities in the emergency room. Emerg Radiol. 2013 Dec;20(6):529-41. doi: 10.1007/s10140-013-1136-6. Link to article on publisher's site
Related Resources
Journal/Book/Conference Title
Emergency radiology
PubMed ID
23739799
Repository Citation
Takhtani D, Dundamadappa SK, Almast J. (2013). Role of noncontrast head CT in the assessment of vascular abnormalities in the emergency room. University of Massachusetts Medical School Faculty Publications. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10140-013-1136-6. Retrieved from https://escholarship.umassmed.edu/faculty_pubs/371