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Abstract
Introduction: The introduction of CT imaging has greatly improved diagnostic accuracy in medicine. However, its widespread use raises concerns due to potential risks such as radiation exposure, incidental findings, and unnecessary follow-up testing. CT is often used even when it may not significantly impact patient outcomes, and its use is liberal even in patients with minor symptoms. There are concerns about the potential overuse of CT imaging with little to no diagnostic benefits.
Objective: To estimate the frequency of normal head CT and positive CT findings in patients with headache and the potential risk of unnecessary exposure.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Radiology Dept of Gondal Medical Complex, Gujranwala, over a four-month period from November 2023 to February 2024. After approval from the institution's ethics review board committee, the results of approximately 100-125 patients were to be included in the study. 1-3 Data was collected through the results of head CT scans of patients who came with a presenting complaint of headache and was analyzed retrospectively. The data was analyzed through SPSS (Statistical Package of Social Sciences) version 20. Descriptive Statistics were used to analyze the data.
Results: A total of 132 patients were included in the study, which fulfilled the inclusion criteria. There were 51.5% female (68) and 48.5% male(64), with a mean age of 41±16.44. Of the total 132 patients, most patients (25% n=33) were between 30-39 years of age where whereas the age groups of 0-9 and 80> had 1 patient each, respectively. Among 132 patients (87.9%, n=116) were presented with headache was the only complaint, and with additional complaints like vertigo (1.5%,n=2), headache and vertigo(5.3%,n=7), headache and hypertension (5.3%,n=7).In total, 85.6% (n=113/132) were normal brain CT scans, and (14.4%,n=19) were abnormal. The total percentage of patients with significant findings was (9.6%,n=12), while the remaining had insignificant findings such as brain atrophy.
Conclusion: A large number of normal scans of CT brain suggest the possibility of inappropriate overuse of brain scanning. A more careful and responsible approach is needed by the referring physicians to avoid the harmful effects to the patients and to decrease the burden of imaging and then reporting on the Radiology staff personnel.
Keywords: Computed tomography, headache, normal study.