A patient is scheduled for a computerized tomography (CT) scan. Which of the following is an appropriate statement by the nurse?
Explanation
• If a dye is used, the patient may feel flushed and warm when the dye is injected, but it is not painful.
• During the procedure, the patient lies still on a table that moves into a doughnut-shaped x-ray device called a gantry. The gantry uses multiple x-ray beams and detectors that rotate and produce cross-sectional views in three dimensions. The machine may be noisy.
• CT scanning has a high degree of sensitivity for detecting tumors.
• Incorrect: The patient is not exposed to a magnetic field in a CT scan.
• Incorrect: The patient is not required to lie still for an hour after the scan, he/she only needs to lie still for the duration of the scan.
• Incorrect: It is not required for a patient to drink eight glasses of water before a CT scan. If an abdominal CT is ordered, the patient likely needs to be NPO for at least four hours prior to the scan and may be required to drink