Brain CT Clinical Guide
Abnormalities on computed tomography (CT) of the brain can be quite subtle, but half the battle is knowing what you’re looking for and where to find it. This guide will help you recognize common abnormalities on brain CT and how to identify when normal structures are absent. From traumatic brain injuries and strokes to hemorrhages, tumors, and seizures, you’ll gain the skills you need to avoid common pitfalls and maximize your ability to recognize subtle disease on brain CT.
The clinical essentials of brain computed tomography (CT)
To competently read a computed tomography (CT) brain scan, you need to recognize abnormalities that are additions (e.g., hemorrhage and masses), as well as the absence of normal structures. This is because, in many patients, the loss of normal anatomy is the only manifestation of significant disease evident on brain CT. In the articles of this chapter, we review how to maximize your ability to recognize subtle disease by identifying key normal structures on every scan, and how to optimize the appearance of CT images on a computer monitor.
Trauma imaging with brain computed tomography (CT)
- How to recognize extra-axial hemorrhages on brain computed tomography (CT) scans
- How to identify a traumatic shear injury on a brain computed tomography (CT) scan
- Where to look for intraparenchymal hemorrhages in a trauma patient on a brain computed tomography (CT) scan
- How to identify common causes of subarachnoid hemorrhages on computed tomography (CT) scans of the brain
- Common pitfalls of interpreting brain computed tomography (CT) scans
Stroke imaging with brain computed tomography (CT)
- How to identify early signs of acute infarction on computed tomography (CT) scans
- Evolution of acute infarctions in brain computed tomography (CT) scans over time
- Intraarterial thrombectomy or thrombolysis computed tomography (CT) imaging essentials
- Why are computed tomography angiography (CTA) and perfusion computed tomography (CT) important imaging modalities for acute stroke patients?
Detecting nontraumatic brain hemorrhages on computed tomography (CT)
- How to accurately detect subarachnoid hemorrhages on brain computed tomography (CT)
- Common locations of aneurysms on brain computed tomography (CT) scans
- Hemorrhage or not? Determining the cause of high attenuation on brain computed tomography (CT)
- How to identify the cause of a parenchymal hemorrhage on a brain computed tomography (CT) scan
- An approach to identifying isolated intraventricular hemorrhages on brain computed tomography (CT)
Brain tumor computed tomography (CT) imaging
- Distinguishing between intra- and extra-axial tumors on brain computed tomography (CT)
- Distinguishing four common adult extra-axial masses on brain computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
- Recognizing intra-axial tumors on brain computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)