Guest reena98765 Posted July 15, 2004 Report Share Posted July 15, 2004 Hi Does anyone know how the waiting times typically are for getting a CT scan and an MRI in Ontario, if a brain tumor is suspected? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest UWOMED2005 Posted July 15, 2004 Report Share Posted July 15, 2004 If there is a high index of suspicion, an MRI or CT scan is indicated, and the results could significantly alter treatment plans, then the answer is relatively soon. As an outpatient it could be within days to a week. . . if someone thought the presentation warranted admission, I've seen CTs or MRIs in the same context performed same day or within at least 72hrs. If the patient in question were simply having a headache and wanted the imaging done "just to be sure" then it could be weeks to months or even longer. I once heard a physician specifically ask for an MRI date in January 2009 for a patient who was demanding a head MRI to rule out brain tumour with no real presenting symptoms, just to appease the patient without burdening the waitlists (well, until 2009.) We can't MRI everyone's head who has a headache. The unfortunate thing is, though, that you basically have to have a dramatic presentation to get things done. And if a brain tumour has progressed to the point where there are symptoms sufficient to warrant an MRI, it would not be surprising to find the tumour has moved past the stage of resection. Likewise, if we could identify tumours before they were symptomatic we'd have a better chance to get at them while they were still surgically resect them (ie while there was still a tumour.) Sounds great, right? But there's another catch. Even if we had the resources to MRI every Canadian citizen's head every 6 mos (which we absolutely don't) we'd turn up way more 'incidentalomas' than actual tumours. 'Incidentalomas' are clinically irrelevant masses (ie benign or harmless) found on CT or MRI. Considering there's an inherent risk to surgery, we would probably kill more people that would have been fine with just an incidentaloma, than save people with significant tumours! Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ian Wong Posted July 16, 2004 Report Share Posted July 16, 2004 I'm going to close this as there's a duplicate thread in the General Premed forum. Please only post your question once, and in the most appropriate forum, as the forums will get clogged up if everyone starts posting duplicate threads in multiple forums. Thanks! The thread in the General Premed forum is here: p084.ezboard.com/fpremed101frm34.showMessage?topicID=1037.topic Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest leviathan Posted August 14, 2004 Report Share Posted August 14, 2004 Or, you can always just sign up for a research study. I did it for a psychology study and had an MRI done the next day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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