Incidental cranial CT findings in head injury patients in a Nigerian tertiary hospital.

BACKGROUND

Incidental findings on computed tomography (CT) scans are occasionally noted in patients presenting with head injury. Since it can be assumed that head injured patients are of normal health status before the accident, these findings may be a representation of their frequency in the general population. Our aim was to determine the prevalence of such incidental findings among head injured patients in Nigeria's foremost center of clinical neurosciences.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We conducted a retrospective review of CT scan images of 591 consecutive eligible patients over a 5-year period (2006-2010) to identify incidental findings. The images were evaluated by consensus agreement of two radiologists. Associations with gender and age were explored using appropriate statistical tests with an alpha level of 0.05.

RESULTS

The mean patient age was 34.6 ± 21.2 years, and male to female ratio was 3.2: 1. Incidental findings were noted in 503/591 (85.1 %) of the scans. Intracranial calcification was the commonest finding occurring in 61.8% of patients. Over 90% of the findings were benign. Compared with older ones, patients under the age of 60 were less likely, (P < 0.001), to have incidental findings.

CONCLUSION

Although the majority of incidental findings in this African cohort of head injury patients are benign some clinically significant lesions were detectable. It is therefore recommended that such findings be adequately described in the radiological reports for proper counseling and follow-up.