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Published on: June 2, 2014
Brain Imaging Findings in Children with Headache
Razieh Behzadmehr1, Sara Arefi2, Reyhane Behzadmehr3
1Department of Radiology, Faculty of medicine, Zabol University of Medical Sciences, Zabol, Iran.
Insights
In children with headaches, most CT scans and MRIs show normal or benign results. Imaging is recommended only for pediatric patients with abnormal physical examination findings.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Neurology
- Diagnostic Imaging
- Child Health
Background:
- Headaches are common in children, but neuroimaging like CT scans and MRIs are costly and carry radiation risks.
- A small percentage of pediatric headache cases present with positive CT or MRI findings.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the findings of CT scans and MRI in children experiencing headaches.
- To assess the utility of neuroimaging in pediatric headache evaluation.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study involving 353 children with headaches.
- Data from 217 CT scans and 136 MRI reports were analyzed.
- Statistical analysis included the chi-square test using SPSS software.
Main Results:
- 88.9% of MRI and 75.7% of CT scans were normal.
- Abnormal CT scan findings (mass, hematoma) and MRI findings (cysts) were more common in boys.
- Abnormalities were found in 12.2% of CT scans and 26.3% of MRIs, with higher prevalence in males.
Conclusions:
- The majority of neuroimaging results in pediatric headache patients are normal or indicate benign lesions.
- Neuroimaging should be reserved for children with headaches who exhibit abnormal physical examination findings.
- This suggests a selective approach to imaging in pediatric headache management.
Background:
Headache is a common problem in children, but a small percentage of them have positive findings on CT scan and MRI, and considering that CT scan and MRI is costly and risks of radiation is high for children. Therefore the aim of this study is evaluating CT scans and MRI finding in children with headache.
Materials And Methods:
This cross-sectional study was performed on 353 children with headaches that 217 patients underwent CT and 136 patients underwent MRI. The data collected through the report sheet of CT scan and MRI and analyzed using SPSS software and chi-square test.
Results:
According to the study, 88.9% of MRI and 75.7% of CT scan were normal. Abnormal findings on CT scan was significantly higher in boys (12.2% vs. 9.5%) (P= 0.03) and it was determined that MRI findings was also significantly higher in boys (26.3% vs. 21.5%) (P=0.04). The most common abnormal findings on CT scan was mass (16.6%) and hematoma (16.6%) and the most common abnormal findings on MRI was cysts (26.3%).
Conclusion:
The results of our study showed that the majority of imaging results in patients with headache was normal or benign lesions. Therefore, imaging should be performed only in children with abnormal findings on physical examination.
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