Evaluation of common findings in brain computerized tomography (CT) scan: A single center study

Computed Tomography (CT) is an invaluable imaging tool in the diagnostic workup of patients presenting with head trauma, stroke, brain tumour and epilepsy. The objective of this study was to document the common intracranial pathologies as revealed by CT in our setting and also determine if the indications for CT scan are justified so that patients are not exposed to radiation unnecessarily.

This was a cross-sectional study carried out in Hansa Clinic Enugu, Enugu State, Nigeria. Demographic data and brain CT radiological reports with imaging findings and clinical indications for patients referred to this study centre from January, 2017 to January 2019 were retrieved from the CT reports' archives and reviewed retrospectively. Relevant information such age, gender, radiological CT findings and clinical indications were collected using structured proforma.

A total of 300 patients' brain CT radiological reports were included in this study. The mean age of the patients was 41.25 ± 16.5 years with majority been within the age group of 31-40 years 92 (30.67%). Out of 300 cases, normal finding was highest 117 (39%) and the least was intracranial physiological calcification, which is 1 (0.33%). Headache is the most common clinical indication, 53 (17.67%) the least was unsteady Gait, which is 3 (1%). The Chi-square test revealed that there was statistically significance relationship between brain CT findings and clinical indications for the investigations (X² = 285.60, p = 0.002).

The study showed that more males than females undergo brain CT scan with headache being the most common presenting complaint. The majority of findings of the brain CT scans in this study are normal despite, myriads of complaints necessitating the investigations. The study also revealed significant association between clinical indications and CT findings.