Patient Care and Education
Core concepts
CT patient care questions test whether you can prepare a patient safely and communicate clearly before, during, and after the scan. Know how to obtain a focused history: allergies, prior contrast reactions, renal disease, diabetes and metformin use, pregnancy status, asthma, heart failure, and current medications. Understand contrast screening and informed consent, IV access and gauge selection, extravasation recognition and management, and premedication principles. Also review vital-sign assessment, NPO status, sedation precautions, pediatric immobilization, and radiation-risk explanations in plain language.
Traps
Questions often confuse creatinine with eGFR, or ask you to decide definitively whether contrast is safe. The technologist screens and reports; the radiologist or protocol determines whether iodinated contrast is given. Do not assume breastfeeding must be permanently stopped after contrast-current guidance generally supports continuing without interruption, though some patients may pump and discard for a short period per local policy. Know that premedication reduces, but does not eliminate, reaction risk and follows a timed regimen, not a single dose at scan time. Oral contrast does not require the same allergy premedication as IV contrast, but aspiration risk still matters.
Worked example / rule of thumb
A common premedication regimen is prednisone 50 mg orally at 13, 7, and 1 hour before contrast, plus diphenhydramine 50 mg orally 1 hour before, with local protocol and emergency coverage. If a patient reports hives and wheezing after a prior iodinated contrast injection, treat that as a significant reaction: stop, assess airway and vital signs, call for help, and document. Rule of thumb: screen, verify, and escalate-never independently override a contrast contraindication.
Communication and education
Use short, concrete explanations: what will happen, how long it takes, when contrast may cause flushing or warmth, and how to signal the technologist. Validate understanding and address claustrophobia or anxiety before positioning.