CT scan for brain

[toughmathew]

Recently , my head got hit by a baseball, after 2 day i still got pain in there, my GP suggests me for ct scan for brain?

i would like to ask a couple of question

1) with contrast or without contrast is better? why do they need contrast?

2)I feel that this kind of check would be harmful to my health especially when it comes to brain, am i right?

thanks

[Dr. A. Srivastava]

Thank you for your question. With contrast there are some areas that is affected like brain tissue after trauma and tumor can be easily highlighted , however without contrast it is difficult to do. I would recommend that you consult your treating doctor for the same. Hope this helps.

[toughmathew]

by the way 64CT or MRI is better

[toughmathew]

excuse i would really like your opinion
would you mind telling me if done without contrast , it can't detect vascular/blood related injuries/abnormalities problem?

and what if with contrast, what kind of problem can it be detected

[Dr. A. Srivastava]

Thank you for your question. For reassurance that your brain tissue has not been damaged, CT scan is the essential modality of investigation and radiation doesn't have that much major impact of brain health as you are assuming. Secondly, your treating doctor will be in best position to guide you regarding contrast or non-contrast CT as he examined your condition. Please consult him or her at your earliest. Hope this helps.

[toughmathew]

would you tell me with contrast can detect what disease

and without contrast can detect what disease

[dame_wilbur]

CT Scans are very common when it comes to possible brain injury. Scans w/ contrast can show different things than a scan without, as the contrast is a dye that's injected into your bloodstream and will show more vascular/blood related injuries/abnormalities as opposed to one without contrast which would look more at the physical things.

I personally would go with contrast given that this is a head injury which has the possibility for a concussion, but that's just imo. Definitely go with what your doc prescribes.

~Dame

[ggreg]

Well, I think I can give you a fairly accurate general reply.  A CT scan won't hurt your brain at all.  However, it's like an X-ray in that it uses radiation to get the pictures, so your body gets an extra dose of it, which in some circles is arguably not exactly a good thing.  Contrast is like a white liquid they put in your veins so that parts of the brain that might not otherwise be seen will stand out more clearly.  Some docs will order a scan BOTH with and without contrast, as some problems show up better without contrast, and some better with, but don't ask me why.  You will feel a difference when they inject that stuff, you'll get a really warm sensation thru your body, but I've had it a time or two, and never noticed any sort of problem from it, but I suppose you could do a little general online search about the whys and wherefores and possible side effects of contrast, to put your mind at ease.  I'd do it for you, but it's so easy that I hope you will try yourself.

To me, what matters is just how hard you were hit by that baseball, and also if you have other unusual symptoms as a result of the injury, and of course just how badly it does hurt.  I think your doc is being cautious, if nothing else, and I personally think it's okay to have the scan done.  If you have any real concerns, tho, you can ask for a "second opinion," and perhaps get referred to a neurologist, which usually takes a long wait, so you have to balance the wait with the urgency to have a scan.  See, if your brain was actually injured from the impact of the baseball, you want it fixed NOW, not later.  I think probably your doc has noticed some other contributing factors to lead him to order a scan, plus his experience with effects of blows to the head like you got, but I will say that anybody that gets hit very hard by a baseball anywhere is gonna hurt for quite a while.  But this is why we have docs, to make the educated and experience-based judgment about health issues, to protect you and help you.