Abdominal CT scan (with contrast)

A contrast CT of the abdomen only — from roughly the diaphragm down to the top of the pelvis. It covers the liver, pancreas, spleen, kidneys, adrenal glands and upper bowel. Most patients with abdominal pain get the wider abdomen-and-pelvis scan instead; this narrower code is used when the question lives in the upper belly.

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What it is

The abdomen, in imaging terms, is the compartment holding the solid organs: liver, gallbladder, pancreas, spleen, kidneys and adrenal glands, plus the stomach and the upper loops of intestine. This scan images that compartment after iodine dye has been injected into a vein. The dye is what makes the scan useful — a liver full of blood vessels brightens, a tumor or a dead patch inside it does not brighten the same way, and the contrast between the two is the finding. Whether the pelvis is included is not a detail: it is what separates this code from the far more commonly ordered combined study, and it reflects a decision about where the problem is.

Why it is done

To investigate pain in the upper abdomen, including problems with the liver, gallbladder, pancreas or spleen
To look at a mass or an abnormality in a solid organ that an ultrasound found but could not fully describe
To follow a known liver or kidney lesion, or to check the abdomen for the spread of a cancer being treated
To assess the upper abdominal organs after an injury

What to expect

Most centers ask for several hours without food, both because it improves the images and because an empty stomach is safer if the dye causes nausea. An IV goes into the hand or arm. Some protocols include a drink of oral contrast an hour or so beforehand. The injection produces a brief warm flush, a metallic taste, and sometimes a false sensation of having wet oneself. The scanning takes a few minutes with one or two breath-holds, and there is nothing to recover from afterward.

Questions worth asking

Was the order for the abdomen alone or for abdomen and pelvis? They are different codes at different prices, and the wider one is what most abdominal pain work-ups actually use.
If the pelvis ends up being scanned too because the radiologist asked for it, will that be a second charge or a change of code?
Does the quoted price include the contrast material, the IV supplies and the radiologist's read, or only the scan?
Have I had a CT of this area recently somewhere else? Bringing those images may avoid a repeat scan, and any disc-transfer fee is trivial next to the cost of rescanning.

What Abdominal CT scan (with contrast) costs by state

Abdominal CT scan (with contrast) cost in Texas — 113 hospitals, median $2,612.85
Abdominal CT scan (with contrast) cost in California — 90 hospitals, median $2,236.00
Abdominal CT scan (with contrast) cost in Florida — 68 hospitals, median $5,541.51
Abdominal CT scan (with contrast) cost in Ohio — 68 hospitals, median $1,385.40
Abdominal CT scan (with contrast) cost in Illinois — 51 hospitals, median $2,355.00
Abdominal CT scan (with contrast) cost in Virginia — 43 hospitals, median $1,642.50
Abdominal CT scan (with contrast) cost in Tennessee — 38 hospitals, median $587.70
Abdominal CT scan (with contrast) cost in Wisconsin — 33 hospitals, median $1,570.00
Abdominal CT scan (with contrast) cost in Pennsylvania — 32 hospitals, median $1,424.40
Abdominal CT scan (with contrast) cost in Washington — 32 hospitals, median $1,520.00
Abdominal CT scan (with contrast) cost in Iowa — 30 hospitals, median $1,725.29
Abdominal CT scan (with contrast) cost in Michigan — 27 hospitals, median $1,786.00
Abdominal CT scan (with contrast) cost in Indiana — 26 hospitals, median $785.00
Abdominal CT scan (with contrast) cost in Kentucky — 26 hospitals, median $1,927.20
Abdominal CT scan (with contrast) cost in Georgia — 25 hospitals, median $1,683.63
Abdominal CT scan (with contrast) cost in Arizona — 23 hospitals, median $429.42
Abdominal CT scan (with contrast) cost in New York — 23 hospitals, median $210.66
Abdominal CT scan (with contrast) cost in New Jersey — 21 hospitals, median $453.34
Abdominal CT scan (with contrast) cost in Missouri — 20 hospitals, median $1,058.64
Abdominal CT scan (with contrast) cost in Minnesota — 19 hospitals, median $2,364.00
Abdominal CT scan (with contrast) cost in Colorado — 17 hospitals, median $6,969.87
Abdominal CT scan (with contrast) cost in Oklahoma — 17 hospitals, median $1,871.35
Abdominal CT scan (with contrast) cost in West Virginia — 17 hospitals, median $1,097.00
Abdominal CT scan (with contrast) cost in North Carolina — 15 hospitals, median $1,608.98
Abdominal CT scan (with contrast) cost in Nebraska — 13 hospitals, median $1,344.12
Abdominal CT scan (with contrast) cost in Oregon — 13 hospitals, median $968.96
Abdominal CT scan (with contrast) cost in Arkansas — 11 hospitals, median $1,761.50
Abdominal CT scan (with contrast) cost in Kansas — 11 hospitals, median $5,089.63
Abdominal CT scan (with contrast) cost in Mississippi — 11 hospitals, median $875.16
Abdominal CT scan (with contrast) cost in South Carolina — 11 hospitals, median $1,532.50
Abdominal CT scan (with contrast) cost in Maine — 7 hospitals, median $2,190.55
Abdominal CT scan (with contrast) cost in South Dakota — 7 hospitals, median $2,656.00
Abdominal CT scan (with contrast) cost in Alaska — 5 hospitals, median $3,059.16
Abdominal CT scan (with contrast) cost in Nevada — 4 hospitals, median $1,828.40
Abdominal CT scan (with contrast) cost in North Dakota — 4 hospitals, median $2,397.60
Abdominal CT scan (with contrast) cost in Wyoming — 4 hospitals, median $1,022.40
Abdominal CT scan (with contrast) cost in Hawaii — 2 hospitals, median $733.76
Abdominal CT scan (with contrast) cost in Maryland — 2 hospitals, median $140.40
Abdominal CT scan (with contrast) cost in Montana — 2 hospitals, median $1,400.80
Abdominal CT scan (with contrast) cost in New Mexico — 2 hospitals, median $2,594.34
Abdominal CT scan (with contrast) cost in Louisiana — 1 hospitals, median $472.94
Abdominal CT scan (with contrast) cost in New Hampshire — 1 hospitals, median $2,400.80

Abdominal CT scan (with contrast) prices at hospitals

See every published price for Abdominal CT scan (with contrast): the full national range, the state and hospital breakdowns, and which hospitals charge the least.

Abdominal CT scan (with contrast) cost — see all prices →

Sources

MedlinePlus: Abdominal CT scan (opens in a new tab, leaves healthcosts.net)
RadiologyInfo (RSNA and ACR): Abdominal and Pelvic CT (opens in a new tab, leaves healthcosts.net)
Wikipedia (opens in a new tab, leaves healthcosts.net)

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