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Enhanced Practice > CT Head > Flashcards

CT Head Flashcards

1
Q

What are the Indications for CT head scan?

A
  • Gcs 13 or less
  • vomiting
  • post traumatic seizures
  • suspected depressed/open fracture
  • Use or anti-coagulants
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2
Q

What is hydrocephalus?

A

-dilation of the cerebral ventricular system.

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3
Q

What does hydrocephalus look like on images?

A
  • dilated ventricle (x sign)
  • surrounding oedema
  • small sulci
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4
Q

What causes hydrocephalus?

A
  • overproduction of CSF
  • failure of reabsorption of CSF
  • Obstruction of the flow of CSF
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5
Q

Where is CSF produced, where does it travel and what does it do?

A
  • produced in cells in choroid plexus
  • moved from ventricles to subarachnoid space
  • bathed the brain and spinal cord
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6
Q

What is CSF absorbed?

A

-CSF is absorbed by arachnoid granules in the walls of venous sinuses.

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7
Q

What causes the failure of reabsorption of CSF?

A
  • choroid plexus tumour pressing on aqueduct of Sylvius
  • midbrain tumour pressing on aqueduct if sylvius
  • haemorrhage
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8
Q

What is cerebral oedema?

A

Abnormal shifts of water between compartments of the brain.

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9
Q

What are the two types of cerebral oedema?

A
  • vasogenic

- cytotoxic

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10
Q

What is vasogenic oedema?

A
  • disruption of blood brain barrier.
  • usually around abscesses and tumours.
  • affects mainly the grey matter.
  • finger-like projections appearance on image.
  • can differentiate between white and grey matter.
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11
Q

What is cytotoxic oedema?

A
  • when extra cellular water moves into the cells causing them to swell.
  • affects mainly the white matter.
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12
Q

What is a cerebral infarct?

A

-an acute area of neurological deficit.

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13
Q

What are the causes of cerebral infarct?

A
  • cerebral haemorrhage.
  • cerebral thrombus.
  • cerebral embolus.
  • subarachnoid haemorrhage.
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14
Q

What is the predisposing factor of middle cerebral artery infarct?

A

-atherosclerosis

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15
Q

What produced the grey scale in CT?

A

-voxels.

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16
Q

Explain grey scale in CT

A
  • air is hypodense
  • CSF is hypodense
  • fresh blood is hyperdense
  • old blood is hypodense
  • bone is white/grey
  • metal is white/hyperdense
  • soft tissue is grey
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17
Q

What happens when an infarct ages?

A

-gets more hypodense than the parenchyma it’s within.

18
Q

What are the appearances of an acute infarct?

A
  • hyperdense area

- may have oedema surrounding it

19
Q

What is an epidural haematoma?

A

-bleed between the dura mater and in table of the skull.

20
Q

What causes an epidural haematoma?

A
  • head injury
  • skull fracture
  • laceration of meningeal vessels and dura sinus
21
Q

What are the appearances of an epidural haematoma?

A
  • lens shapes
  • pushes on parenchyma of brain
  • does not cross sutures
  • can cross midline
22
Q

What is a subdural haematoma?

A

-bleed between the dura and arachnoid mater.

23
Q

What causes a subdural haematoma?

A
  • head injury

- laceration of the bridging vessels

24
Q

What are the appearances of a subdural haematoma?

A

-noon/cresenteric shape

25
Q

What do patients present with with a an epidural haematoma?

A

Period of relative lucency followed by declined consciousness

26
Q

What type of contrast is air and when can it be used?

A
  • negative contrast

- used in CT colonography

27
Q

What is an oral contrast?

A
  • iodine based preparations
  • given to patient 1 hour and 24 hours prior to examination to opacity the distal and proximal aspects of the gastrointestinal tract.
28
Q

What is an IV contrast?

A
  • usually iodine based contrast
  • can be given to vascular tree in phases
  • arterial= 20 seconds
  • venous= 70 seconds
29
Q

What side affects do given contrast have?

A
  • warmth feelings
  • metallic taste in mouth
  • feeling of urination
30
Q

What is a contrast media?

A
  • solution given to enhance tissues within the body.
  • has high molecular weight
  • high attenuation value of the organ it opacifies
  • can cause reactions
31
Q

What is a glioma?

A
  • most common primary tumour of the brain

- usually occupies the cerebral hemispheres and thalamus in adults and the posterior fossa in children.

32
Q

What is a glioblastoma multiforme?

A
  • high-grade glioma.
  • affects the temporal and frontal lobes of the brain.
  • causes seizures and raised intracranial pressure.
33
Q

What is a cerebral haemorrhage?

A

-direct bleeding into the brain parenchyma

34
Q

What causes a cerebral haemorrhage?

A
  • hypertension

- head injury

35
Q

What units is CT measured in?

A

-hounsfield units

36
Q

What are the key midline structures?

A
  • septum pellucidum
  • third ventricle
  • fall cerebri
  • pineal gland
37
Q

What is a gyri and sulci?

A
  • gyri is a fold of the brain surface

- sulci is a furrow between the gyri which contains CSF fluid

38
Q

What are the three types of skull fractures?

A
  • linear
  • depressed
  • basilar
39
Q

What is a linear fracture?

A
  • most common
  • break to bone but no displacement
  • involves entire thickness of the skull
  • tend to occur due to low-energy transfer from blunt trauma over a wide surface of the head
  • often no intervention is needed unless they involve vascular channel, venous sinus grove or a suture
40
Q

What is a depressed fracture?

A
  • clinically significant and require elevation
  • may be closed or open
  • require surgery
  • on plain film appear as prominent sclerotic margins along fracture site
41
Q

What is a basilar fracture?

A
  • most serious
  • linear break in the bone in base of skull
  • occur mostly in temporal/occipital condylar region
  • dural tear sign
  • fluid level in sphenoid sinus
  • raccoons eyes
  • CSF discharge from ears on nose
  • bruising behind ears

Enhanced Practice (1 decks)

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