Having at CT scan at CHOC Hospital
This short video will describe what you can expect during your child’s computerized tomography or CT scan in the Gregg and Celin Miller Radiology Department at CHOC.
After checking in at the front desk, you’ll be directed to the radiology department, right across from the admitting desk.
After filling out some paperwork in the radiology lobby, an aide will call your child back. They will walk you to the CT preparation room and explain what will happen during the procedure and answer any questions you might have.
Your child may need to put on a hospital gown.
The technologist will screen your child and ask about their medical history.
If your child is having a contrast study, the CT technologist will need to weigh your child.
If your child is having a CT of the abdomen and pelvis or just a CT of the abdomen, they will drink an oral contrast fluid that is mixed with lemonade. Then you will need to wait for 60 to 90 minutes before having the CT.
After that, you and your child will be taken to the CT exam room.
The CT scanner is a machine shaped like a doughnut.
Then they will lie down on a bed that moves into the machine.
If the exam was done without the contrast fluid, the exam takes less than five minutes. If the exam uses contrast fluid, the exam lasts about 10 minutes.
After the exam, an aide will walk you and your child out to the lobby and provide you with a contact card for your child’s doctor for follow up.