Important signs in CT head - Dr Olutobi Meadows

Summary

This medical session will cover the interpretation of Head CT scans, with a special focus on neuropathology. Learn to recognise normal anatomy, identify common bleeds, strokes and mass lesions, and understand how to diagnose subdural, extradural and subarachnoid haematomas, as well as other causes of loss of grey-white matter differentiation. Know why you should care about CT head interpretation for exams, foundation training and to be empowered! Suitable for all medical professionals.

Generated by MedBot

Description

This is the 2023 Radiology Teaching series hosted and organised by Anna. This series will include some high yield exam contents with helpful SBAs and interactive segments to keep everyone engaged. Please find the recordings and slides of these sessions here and we hope you will find them useful.

Please note that these slides and recordings are properties and should be credited to their respective authors. There are no affiliations between these speakers and the St George's University of London teaching curriculum.

Please find the session titles here:

Interpretation of Abdominal X-Ray - Dr Mohamed Adam Ali
Interpretation of Chest X-Ray - Dr Manjiri Joshi
Important signs in surgical radiology - Dr Naren Govindarajah
Interpretation of MSK X-Ray - Dr Gabie Reiff
Important signs in abdominal CT - Dr Pardis Zalmay
Important signs in CT head - Dr Olutobi Meadows

Learning objectives

Learning Objectives:

Understand the basic principles of CT head interpretation
Learn to recognize normal features of the CT head
Gain knowledge of common pathology associated with CT head scans including bleeds, strokes and space occupying lesions
Be able to identify haemorrhage by compartment
Learn to recognize potential causes of loss of grey to white matter differentiation on a CT scan.

Generated by MedBot

Similar communities

View all

Similar events and on demand videos

Computer generated transcript

Warning!
The following transcript was generated automatically from the content and has not been checked or corrected manually.

IMPORTANT CT HEAD SIGNS DrTobi Meadows LEARNING OBJECTIVES •Basic approach to CT Head interpretation •Recognising normal •Common pathology - Bleeds - Stroke - Space occupying lesions WHY SHOULD YOU CARE? •To pass your exams •You want to be a radiologist •You have to get through foundation training •It’s empowering!BASIC PRINCIPLES (BRIEFLY) • CT scans use X-rays • An x-ray tube rotates around the patient and is detected from multiple directions to produce a cross-sectional image • The x-ray beam is attenuated to differing extents by different tissues • More penetrable structure → more x-rays reach the detector → darker image • The weaker the signal detected,the whiter the image • These values are expressed as CT numbers or ”Hounsfield Units”INTRACRANIAL TISSUES48 Y/O LADY SUDDEN ONSET WORST EVER HEADACHE, NO FOCAL NEUROLOGY • What are the differentials • What investigations would you do and in what order?CT HEAD – WHAT WOULD THE REPORT SAY?WHERETO LOOK FOR BLOOD: “BASAL CISTERNS”SYLVIAN FISSURE AND SULCISUBARACHNOID HAEMORRHAGE SENSITIVITY OF CT FOR SAH TIME AFTER PROBABILITY HEADACHE (%) ONSET DAY 0 95-99 DAY 3 80 Negative CT = LP 1 WEEK 50 2 WEEKS 30 3 WEEKS ~0 van Gijn J et al. Neuroradiology.1982 Kassell NF et al. J Neurosurg. 1990 HAEMORRHAGE BY COMPARTMENT • Intra-axial • Parenchymal • Ventricular • Extra-axial • Extradural (usually middle meningeal artery) • Subdural (bridging veins) • Subarachnoid (arterial) EXTRADURAL HAEMATOMA • Lens shape • Does not cross suture line • Strips dura • Look for fracture! SUBDURAL HAEMATOMA • Crescent shape • Crosses sutures • Tracks along dural reflections - Blood limited by falx and tentorium • More common in older patients -Torn bridging cortical veinsTRAUMATIC SDH 70 Y/O MAN PRESENTS WITH LEFT SIDED FACIAL DROOP AND UPPER LIMB WEAKNESS3 DAYS LATERVASCULAR TERRITORIESOTHER CAUSES OF LOSS OF GREY- WHITE MATTER DIFFERENTIATIONMASS LESIONSBLEEDS CAN CAUSE SIGNIFICANT MASS EFFECT TOOANY QUESTIONS?