CT Scanner
Thanks to CT scanning (computed tomography, often called a “CAT” scan) doctors can view a “slice” of the human body painlessly. Often used to diagnose life-threatening conditions and issues like cancer, blood clots, infections, lung and liver disease, head and spine injuries and internal bleeding, Barstow Community Hospital includes CT scans among the variety of diagnostic tools we use to give patients of all ages a clear picture of illness and injury.
We use a 64-slice CT scanner at Barstow Community Hospital, offering faster, more accurate results than traditional machines. The exam may require that you don’t eat or drink anything beforehand if it involves drinking a contrast liquid or dye—which help us see more clearly. Your appointment usually lasts less than an hour including any preparations, though the actual test only takes a few minutes.
Low Dose Lung Screening
Too many people at risk wait until they experience symptoms, like a chronic cough, before they get a lung screening. Among those are heavy smokers who face lung cancer as a major cause of death. “High risk smokers” who have an annual CT lung screening can detect lung cancer much sooner and reduce the death rate by 20%.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has determined that the evidence is sufficient to add a lung cancer screening counseling and shared decision making visit, and for appropriate beneficiaries, annual screening for lung cancer with low-dose computed tomography (LDCT), as an additional preventive service benefit under the Medicare program.
For More Information
Call 760-957-3326
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