Is a head CT necessary after uncomplicated coiling of unruptured intracranial aneuryms?

Unlabelled: In this study, we sought to determine whether routine head computed tomographies (CTs) after uncomplicated coil embolization of intracranial aneurysms can add any significant clinical value.
Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 139 patients with unruptured aneurysms who underwent 150 elective coiling procedures between January 2008 and June 2010. A total of 6 head CTs were obtained emergently after intraprocedural complications and 122 head CTs were obtained routinely after uncomplicated coil embolization of intracranial aneurysms.
Results: The 122 head CTs that were obtained routinely after uncomplicated coil embolization of unruptured intracranial aneurysms did not show any acute or subacute changes.
Conclusion: A head CT after uncomplicated coil embolization of an intracranial aneurysm does not add any significant clinical value and should not be ordered routinely.
(Copyright © 2012 by the American Society of Neuroimaging.)