The Canadian Consensus Conference on the Assessment of Dementia (CCCAD) listed indications for when to perform a head CT scan on a patient with dementia.
Goal: To identify a potentially reversible cause for the dementia.
Indications for head CT in a patient with dementia - one or more of the following:
(1) age < 60 years
(2) history of a bleeding diathesis (coagulopathy)
(3) use of anticoagulants
(4) recent head trauma
(5) history of cancer
(6) unexplained neurologic signs or symptoms (seizures, headache, etc)
(7) unexplained decline in cognitive function for less than 2 months
(8) duration of dementia < 2 years
(9) history of urinary incontinence and gait disorder early in the course of the dementia (or other findings suggesting normal pressure hydrocephalus)
(10) appearance of a new localizing sign (Babinski sign, hemiparesis)
(11) gait ataxia
If none of these findings are present then it is unlikely that the dementia will be reversible.
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