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CT Scan
Tips
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see disclaimer at the bottom of this page)
Question:
My
daughter is sixteen months old and has continuous problems with afp levels.
She has one CT scan, the doctors said if it high on March first she needs
another CT scan. She has had a lot of problems with the anestetic so far
so I'm really nervous.
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Tip
#1
My son is
7 months and he just had his first CT scan. We made a special appointment
for him. Normally they have sedation nurses that will sedate the kids,
however, since he has BWS we scheduled him to meet with an Anesthesiologist
for a consult before the scan. The anesthesiologist was the one who sedated
him and he was also there through the whole procedure. He did great, however,
I do not remember the name of the medication that they gave him. They did
give him an IV and it went in very smoothly. The Anesthesiologist did a
great job at not over sedating him and within a half hour he was wide awake
and flirting with all of the nurses and technicians in recovery (these
kids have million dollar smiles). Try asking for an appointment with an
Anesthesiologist for all scans. I know that I will always do so in
the future.
Tip #2
My daughter
has had to have about three Cat Scans. Because the children are so young
it is important to sedate them so that they lay still and an accurate image
can be obtained. My daughter was always given Chloral Hydrate as an anesthetic.
It will make them sleep through the procedure and then it is relatively
easy to wake them up after the procedure with something as simple as wiping
their face with a warm wash cloth. It is a liquid so that the children
drink it or as the case with you child it can be given with a medicine
syringe. The drawback is that it doesn't taste very good and they can still
have a bit of a "hang-over"( as with most sedating agents) but it doesn't
knock them out the way Ativan can. Because your child is being sedated,
they should still have an I.V. placed as a precautionary measure.
I hope this has been of some help to you.
Tip #3
When our daughter
was a month old she had her first CT scan. The anesthesiologist used a
mask to administer the anesthesia. It took all of 3 seconds before she
was out and only lasted about 20 minutes. When she woke up she was alert
and ready to go again.
Tip #4
Our son, almost
six months, just had a CT scan for elevated AFP levels, and he, too, had
problems with the "anesthetic". We tried to give him the Noctec at
home, but he was not cooperating. Our pediatrician was able to get
the iv started at the hospital and then ordered "Adavan-spelling?", which
is an anti-anxiety drug I think. Anyway, it knocked him out. The scariest
part of the day was waiting for him to wake up. He was So groggy.
Tip #5
Just some
notes on sedation and medicine: Noctec (brand name) is chloryl hydrate
(generic). It gets confusing if you don't know this. Also IV sedation (Versed
is one medicine that may be used) is serious medication and an anesthesiologist
should be present, or at least a doctor, in the room. The techs running
the scan can't watch the child, they have to look at the monitors. What
one tip above said about the laying still is true. "the children
are so young it is important to sedate them so that they lay still and
an accurate image can be obtained." I guess the trick is to find
what works and use it. I mixed my daughter's chloryl hydrate with a non
pulpy juice so she would drink it. I would always go in with her (not recommended
for women who want more children), but I'm also a nurse, that may have
been why they let me in.
Tip #6
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