Benefits and Risks – Abdomen and Pelvis CT Scan

Benefits

• Viewing a CT scan, an experienced radiologist can diagnose many causes of abdominal pain with very high accuracy, enabling faster treatment and often eliminating the need for additional, more invasive diagnostic procedures.
• When pain is caused by infection and inflammation, the speed, ease and accuracy of a CT examination can reduce the risk of serious complications such as those caused by a burst appendix or ruptured diverticulum and the subsequent spread of infection.
• CT scanning is painless, noninvasive and accurate.
• Unlike conventional x-rays, CT scanning provides very detailed images of many types of tissue CT examinations are fast and simple; in emergency cases, they can reveal internal injuries and bleeding quickly enough to help save lives.
• CT has been shown to be a cost-effective imaging tool for a wide range of clinical problems.
• CT is less sensitive to patient movement than MRI.
• CT can be performed if you have an implanted medical device of any kind, unlike MRI.
• CT imaging provides real-time imaging, making it a good tool for guiding minimally invasive procedures such as needle biopsies and needle aspirations of many areas of the body, particularly the lungs, abdomen, pelvis and bones.
• A diagnosis determined by CT scanning may eliminate the need for exploratory surgery
• No radiation remains in a patient's body after a CT examination.
• X-rays used in standard CT scans have no immediate side effects.

Risks

• There is always a slight chance of cancer from excessive exposure to radiation. However, the benefit of an accurate diagnosis will generally outweigh the risk.
• The effective radiation dose for this procedure varies.
• Women should always inform their physician and x-ray or CT technologist if there is any possibility that they are pregnant.
• CT scanning is, in general, not recommended for pregnant women unless medically necessary because of potential risk to the baby.
• The risk of serious allergic reaction to contrast materials that contain iodine is extremely rare, and radiology departments are well-equipped to deal with them.