Patient Information
Choose Your Exam
Common Questions & Answers I Back to Patient's Guide to CT
Head, Sinuses, Neck
Chest
Abdomen
Cardiovascular
Bone or Muskuloskeletal
Screening
Head, Sinuses, Neck
Preparation: Nothing to eat four hours prior to your CT scan appointment. You can drink clear liquids (coffee/tea, water, juice) up until your scheduled appointment. If your exam includes the administration of IV contrast medium, do not drink anything within four hours of your exam (except for small sips of water with your medications.) No earrings, hearing aids, necklaces, some dentures can be worn during the CT scan.
What will I experience?
During the CT scan of your head you will lie flat on your back. Your head will be placed in a special device to help hold your head perfectly still. The CT table will move back and forth/in and out of the CT scanner a few times.
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Chest
Preparation: Nothing to eat four hours prior to your CT scan appointment. You can drink clear liquids (coffee/tea, water, juice) up until your scheduled appointment. If your exam includes the administration of IV contrast medium, do not drink anything within four hours of your exam (except for small sips of water with your medications.) No metal on your body or clothing from your neck to your waist can be worn during the CT scan.
What will I experience?
During the CT scan of your chest you will lie flat on your back on the CT table. You will be asked to raise your
arms up over your head and keep them there for the duration of the scan. Motion of the chest associated with
respiration can blur our images. Breathing instructions will be given to you asking you to take a deep breath in
and hold it.
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Abdomen
Preparation: Nothing to eat four hours prior to your CT scan appointment. You can drink clear liquids (coffee/tea, water, juice) up until your scheduled appointment. If your exam includes the administration of IV contrast medium, do not drink anything within four hours of your exam (except for small sips of water with your medications.) No metal on your body or clothing from your neck to your knees can be worn during the CT scan. You may be asked to drink oral content material (either Barium, Iodine, or water).
What will I experience?
During the CT scan of your abdomen you will lie flat on your back on the CT table. You will be asked to raise your arms up over your head and keep them there for the duration of the scan. Motion of the abdomen associated with
respiration can blur our images. Breathing instructions will be given to you asking you to take a deep breath in,
blow it out and hold it out.
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Cardiovascular
Cardiovascular CT scans are specialized scans to evaluate blood vessels and can cover a wide range of body parts, and vary accordingly.
Preparation: Nothing to eat four hours prior to your CT scan appointment. You can drink clear liquids (coffee/tea, water, juice) up until your scheduled appointment. If your exam includes the administration of IV contrast medium, do not drink anything within four hours of your exam (except for small sips of water with your medications.) No metal on your body or clothing
from your neck to your knees can be worn during the CT scan.
What will I experience?
During the cardiovascular CT scan you will lie flat on your back on the CT table. You will be asked to raise your
arms up over your head and keep them there for the duration of the scan. Motion of the chest and abdomen
associated with respiration can blur our images. Breathing instructions will be given to you asking you to take a
deep breath in and hold it.
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Bone or Muskuloskeletal
Preparation: In general, there is no preparation necessary for a CT scan of the musculoskeletal system
What will I experience?
Depending on the specific area to be scanned you will lie on your stomach or your back on the CT table. Only the
area to be scanned will go through the CT scanner.
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Screening
The CT Division at BWH provides screening services for several common diseases. All screening CT's must be ordered by a physician. It is critical to have a doctor responsible for guiding you through the screening process and any necessary follow up care. Screening CT's are to be scheduled the same way that all diagnostic CT's are scheduled. Some screening procedures are not yet covered by insurance, which may require you to pay for the CT scan.
• Lung Screening is a very low dose chest CT to evaluate for any evidence of lung cancer. BWH is also
participating in the National Lung Cancer Screening Trial. To contact the coordinator please
call 617-732-NLST or please visit us at NLST at Brigham and Women's Hospital.
• Coronary/Cardiac Screening is performed to evaluate the extent of cardiovascular disease or your risk of a
heart attack.
• Colon Cancer Screening or CT Colonography is performed to evaluate for polyps or colon cancer and is an
alternative to colonoscopy. Please visit us at About Virtualcolonoscopy/For Patients for more information.
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This page was last modified on 8/24/2009
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