Utility of the CAT scan in a first psychotic episode.

The authors CAT-scanned 45 people admitted to the psychiatric ward of a large general hospital with a first episode of psychosis. Forty-two scans showed no evidence of intracranial pathology, and three scans showed positive findings that correlated with neuropsychiatric symptomatology. Ordering a head CAT scan in a first episode psychotic illness remains an option based on clinical judgment as opposed to routine protocol.