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The Value of CT Scans for Children with Headaches

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 September 2015

J.M. Dooley ,
P.R. Camfield ,
M. O'Neill  and
A. Vohra
J.M. Dooley*
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics, Dalhousie University and the Izaak Walton Killam Children's Hospital and Colchester Regional Hospital, Nova Scotia
P.R. Camfield
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics, Dalhousie University and the Izaak Walton Killam Children's Hospital and Colchester Regional Hospital, Nova Scotia
M. O'Neill
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics, Dalhousie University and the Izaak Walton Killam Children's Hospital and Colchester Regional Hospital, Nova Scotia
A. Vohra
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics, Dalhousie University and the Izaak Walton Killam Children's Hospital and Colchester Regional Hospital, Nova Scotia
*
Neurology Division, I.W.K. Children's Hospital, 5850 University Avenue, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada B3J 3G9
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Abstract:

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We studied the value of CT scans for all children referred because of headache to one secondary and one tertiary pediatric centre during a 1 year period. Of 117 children who were seen by the Pediatric Neurology Service, at the I.W.K. Children's Hospital, 4 had CT scans and only 1 of these was abnormal. The consultant Pediatrician saw 40 children because of headache. CT scans were done on 3 of these patients and all were normal. None of the children who had a clinical assessment alone had unrecognized neurological disease during 20 months of follow-up. Therefore only 1 of 157 children had significant intracranial pathology. We conclude that CT scans have a limited role in the management of children with headache.

Résumé:

RÉSUMÉ:

Nous avons évalué l'intérêt du CT scan chez tous les enfants référés pour céphalées à un centre de soins pédiatriques secondaires et à un centre de soins tertiaires sur une période d'un an. Sur les 117 enfants qui ont été vus dans le service de neurologie pédiatrique de l'I.W.K. Children's Hospital, 4 ont eu un CT scan, dont un seul s'est avéré anormal. Le pédiatre consultant a vu 40 enfants pour céphalées. Un CT scan a été fait chez 3 de ces patients et tous étaient normaux. Aucun des enfants qui a eu une évaluation clinique seulement n'a manifesté une maladie neurologique, qui aurait été ignorée lors de cette évaluation, dans les 20 mois du suivi. Donc, il n'y avait qu'un enfant sur 157 qui avait une pathologie intracrânienne significative. Nous concluons que le CT scan a un rôle limité dans l'évaluation des enfants présentant des céphalées.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences , Volume 17 , Issue 3 , August 1990 , pp. 309 - 310
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Neurological Sciences Federation 1990

References

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