Assessment of cognitive impairment: the role of CT

The value of CT as a routine screening procedure in the investigation of cognitive impairment is being increasingly challenged. To address this issue, we reviewed the records of 175 patients with intellectual deficits admitted to a Behavioural Neurology Unit over a two-year period. In the vast majority of cases, ie. 82%, the CT served essentially to confirm the clinical impression and added no new diagnostic information that impacted the management of the presenting problem. In 15% of cases the CT scan was helpful for diagnosis, especially in the differentiation between Alzheimer's disease and multi-infarct dementia.