Difference Between A CT Scan And CT Urogram? 

What Is The Difference Between A CT Scan And CT Urogram? 

Did you already know what is the difference between a CT scan and a CT urogram?

Well,

If not, I can help you get a brief on it. Here’s today’s blog post on the computed tomography technique, within which a CT scan implies an overall nuclear imaging test applicable to medical diagnosis and treatment. Whereas a CT urogram is a sub-type of CT scan specifically dealing with the diagnosis and corollary treatment of diseases and disorders related to our urinary system.

While the procedures of a CT scan and CT urogram are almost the same, their uses are not the same, and neither are their capabilities.

Yes! They may be equally risky for pregnant women, children, and diabetes patients, due to the radiation involvement. But they are not equally beneficial.

How? Discover below!

The similarity between CT scan and CT urogram!

Computed Tomography, or CT, is a medical imaging technique that involves a series of X-ray beams to make visual slices of your internal anatomy from multiple angles. It is typically a non-invasive and painless process conducted on an outpatient basis in health centers.

During this scan, you have to lie on a moveable bed or table attached to a scanner. Once the machine gets turned on, the scan starts, and the table movies backward and forward through a central passage or hole in the scanner. The radiologist sits in front of a computer console where the slices come up as cross-sectional two-dimensional images.

Sometimes, the healthcare professional may use a contrast dye to enhance the visual clarity of your internal body parts, especially for the deeper areas, and helps spot abnormalities greater than a CT without contrast.

These days, there exist different CT modalities to ensure an appropriate diagnosis and also an early diagnosis. Such a facet helps serve an early treatment of complex diseases. For instance, a CT angiogram (or angiography) aims to detect the abnormalities in your blood vessels and tissues in detail! On the other hand, a CT calcium score tends to evaluate the amount of calcium present in your coronary arteries, a great approach to detecting life-threatening cardiac or heart diseases.

Besides, some modalities, like a low-dose CT, ensure greater safety. The National Institute of Health affirms that the low-dose CT technique has 90% less radiation exposure than a traditional CT screening.

Benefits of CT scans Vs. CT Urograms!

CT Scan, as we say, is a much broader diagnostic modality. Hence, it holds more benefits.

• CT scans help serve patients having various diseases, from that of the brain to the bones of the foot!
• A CT scan can show the extent of metastasis (cancer spread) among cancer patients and help doctors determine its stage. Indeed, such a factor is significant for patients whose lives are at stake and need treatment shortly.
• CT scans get advanced every moment.  For example – Nowadays, CT scans can happen with helical/ spiral machines and conventional axial step-and-shoot machines; both!
• A CT scan is quick, easily accessible, and cheap. [ Note a difference between CT scans and CT urogram: While a CT scan starts from Rs. 3500 in India, a CT urogram may cost a minimum of Rs. 11000.]

On the other note,

• A CT urogram (or urography) works great in minutely identifying and assessing the size, shape, and other characteristics of urinary organs; to be precise, your kidneys, bladder, ureter, and urethra.
• CT urographies are even more sensitive than magnetic resonance imaging in detecting kidney diseases and those of the upper urinary tract, says the National Institute of Health, India.

Risk Factors of CT Scans and CT Urograms!

As you are aware by now, CT scans, be it a urography, angiography, or a Brain CT, have certain risk factors. Undoubtedly, a little tweak to higher radiation dosage during the scan can leave room for such risks!

It can lead to – Cancers, Heart disease, Kidney damage, Kidney failure, and even Death.

That is why I will always suggest you pursue a CT scan and/or a CT urogram from a certified radiology lab!

Also,

Contrast-Enhanced CTs may bring a few mild-to-moderate side effects due to the presence of the chemical dye in your body. They are – 1. Nausea, 2. Tiredness or Fatigue, 3. Fever, 4. Itchy Skin, 5. Redness near the intervened area for contrast administration, and so forth!

However, you can rest, drink a lot of water, and follow a proper diet to get it done in a day or two, with the exit of the dye through your urine, stool, or sweat.

What Can A CT Scan Detect? Vs. What Can A CT Urogram Detect?

CT scans can detect an unending list of health problems, from –

1. Coronary heart disease,
2. Heart stroke,
3. Heart failure,
4. Blood clots in the heart chambers,
5. Damages to the pulmonary valves,
6. Congenital (birth) defects in the heart,
7. Plague buildup in the blood vessels of your heart,
8. Tumors or abnormal lesions in or around your heart,

Brain diseases, such as –

1. Infections,
2. Tumors (benign or malignant),
3. Structural anomalies in your brain,
4. Brain injury
5. Intracranial bleeding,
6. Fluid buildup inside the skull,
7. Cerebral attack,
8. Vascular dementia, and more;

Lung Diseases, like –

1. Blockage blood flow to your lungs,
2. Lung cancer,
3. Lung infections,
4. Inflammations in your lungs or the surrounding,
5. Lumps or Lesions in or around your lungs,

And

Liver Diseases, namely –

1. Alcoholic and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease,
2. Post-traumatic liver injury,
3. Liver infections,

To,

Bone Disease, specifically – 

1. Fractures,
2. Infections,
3. Tumors,
4. Bone cancers,
5. Arthritis,
6. Deformities in the bones,

And a myriad more! In fact, that includes the ones coming next – The disease that a CT urogram can detect!

A CT urogram can screen a limited list of diseases, such as –

1. Kidney stones,
2. Bladder stones,
3. Urethral stones,
4. Cysts in the pelvic muscle floor,
5. Kidney, Bladder, and Urethral inflammations,
6. Infections in or around your urinary organs,
7. Fibroids in your uterine cavity,
8. Tumors and Cancers in the urinary tract,
9. Kidney failure,
10. Post-traumatic kidney damage,
11. Injuries to any of your urinary organs, and
12. Polyps in the walls of your urinary organs.

Ending Remark: A CT Urogram Is a mere definite type of CT Scan used to diagnose the internal anatomy of a definite body part, and that’s the basic difference between them! Your doctor examines your physical condition, inquires about your symptoms, and prescribes a particular modality.