hi there
can someone pls tell me whether a CT scan can detect an unruptured aneurysm? and if so, if a scan was clear in january, could an aneurysm have developed in five months?
thanks

Dear Mel07
I had a Ct scan 2yrs ago........stated I had a "prominent bulge"...doc said it could be a possible clot or anyerism.....went for 2 MRIs(one with contrast).......apparently the MRIs' showed they were neither....it was "part of my brain mapping"according to the neurologist.
I would suggest a MRI, as for an anyerism developing within 5 mos,I couldn't tell you.
I guess an MRI is more reliable.

A CT could show one, but like kelly said a MRI (with contrast) is more reliable

A CT could show active or old bleeding ,it would realistically not really be able to show any actual vascular malformation such as an aneurysm.its just not a good test for any vascular issues other than what I stated earlier.a ct is geared more for looking at boney or hard structues not any real soft tissue unless enhanced with contrast,and even then it would not actually "get inside" of those soft tissue areas,just show the outter part ,or the shell of like a particualr organ.

you would need,for the best possible look inside the brain for any vascular malformations,an MRA.this strictly highlights the arterial structures inside the brain and with contrast,really can't be beat for getting the best possible look for aneurysm.while some aneurysms "can" be picked up with MRI,even with or without contrast,it still doesn't give you the best overall look as there are still all of the other brain tissues kind of in the way in some areas.while with the MRA,all you see IS the arteries that lie there and nothing else.this lets the docs actually see the bends and narrows of all of the artweries as there is nowhere for them to hide.

my aneurysm was not picked up with an MRI.it was only first seen upon MRA without contrast(I cannot use contrast because of active kidney disease)they still needed to get a much clearer pic of it(it was actually Dxed at this point,they just needed a finer type of pic)so without the contrast dye,the best thing for me then was whats called a 3T or 3 tesla? scan.this is like an MRA but with three times the normal amount of magnetism.this was a more definitive pic of my aneurysm as mine lies at the junction of the cerebellar and the vertebral junctions.much harder to really truely see.its also at a curved area too.

in answer to your question,an aneurysm can pop in just about anytime it wants to.so five months would most definitely be time enough to have one just suddenly develop.

just what was the reason for that CT to be done?i am hoping this was not actually in an attempt to try and actually see if there was an aneurysm in your brain somewhere,as this would almost be malpractice to use a ct for that specific purpose.woefully inadequate just for that reason alone.do you have a confirmed aneurysm right now and are just wondering now if that CT should have caught it back then?

If you could enlighten me a bit more here,it would help alot to know just exactly what the situation is that you are dealing with.thanks,Marcia