Chest CT scan (without contrast)
A chest CT without contrast is the scan for looking at lung tissue itself: nodules, scarring, airway disease, air where it should not be. Lung is mostly air, so it stands out against everything around it without any dye being injected.
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What it is
The lungs are the one place in the body where contrast is usually unnecessary. They are full of air, and air against tissue is already the strongest contrast an X-ray beam can encounter, so the fine architecture of the lung, its nodules, its scarring, its airways, is visible on a plain scan. This code is that plain scan. It is the standard way of chasing something seen on a chest X-ray, of characterizing a nodule, and of following interstitial lung disease over time. What it does not do well is separate a mass from the blood vessels and lymph nodes packed around the heart, which is where injected dye starts to matter.
Why it is done
- To take a closer look at an abnormality spotted on a chest X-ray
- To find or follow a lung nodule, including measuring whether it has grown between scans
- To investigate a cough, breathlessness or chest pain when the lungs themselves are the suspected source
- To assess interstitial lung disease, bronchiectasis, emphysema or the lasting effects of infection, where the pattern in the lung tissue is the diagnosis
What to expect
Patients lie on their back with arms raised above the head and are asked to hold a breath for the few seconds the table moves through the scanner. There is no injection and no fasting. The appointment is short, usually well under half an hour door to door. Dose is adjusted to body size and to the question, and screening protocols in particular use a much lower dose than a diagnostic study. A radiologist reads the images afterward and sends a report.
Questions worth asking
- Is this being ordered as lung cancer screening? Screening has its own code and its own coverage rules, and is priced differently from a diagnostic chest CT.
- Was contrast considered and deliberately left out? Repeating the scan with contrast later means paying for two studies instead of one.
- What is the facility fee here compared with a freestanding imaging center for the same scan?
- If this is a follow-up to watch a nodule, how many repeat scans are expected over the next couple of years, and at what interval?
What Chest CT scan (without contrast) costs by state
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) cost in Texas — 112 hospitals, median $1,680.11
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) cost in California — 90 hospitals, median $1,820.00
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) cost in Ohio — 68 hospitals, median $969.60
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) cost in Florida — 65 hospitals, median $3,818.23
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) cost in Illinois — 51 hospitals, median $1,982.88
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) cost in Virginia — 43 hospitals, median $1,256.40
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) cost in Tennessee — 38 hospitals, median $531.75
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) cost in Pennsylvania — 33 hospitals, median $876.00
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) cost in Wisconsin — 33 hospitals, median $1,470.00
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) cost in Washington — 32 hospitals, median $1,113.00
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) cost in Iowa — 31 hospitals, median $1,441.70
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) cost in Michigan — 27 hospitals, median $1,151.00
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) cost in Indiana — 26 hospitals, median $552.00
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) cost in Kentucky — 26 hospitals, median $1,919.40
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) cost in Georgia — 25 hospitals, median $1,540.50
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) cost in Arizona — 23 hospitals, median $452.97
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) cost in New York — 23 hospitals, median $125.84
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) cost in New Jersey — 22 hospitals, median $433.18
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) cost in Missouri — 20 hospitals, median $895.62
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) cost in Minnesota — 19 hospitals, median $1,728.00
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) cost in Colorado — 17 hospitals, median $4,686.25
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) cost in Oklahoma — 17 hospitals, median $1,472.90
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) cost in West Virginia — 17 hospitals, median $830.50
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) cost in North Carolina — 15 hospitals, median $1,350.03
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) cost in Nebraska — 13 hospitals, median $969.12
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) cost in Oregon — 13 hospitals, median $848.32
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) cost in South Carolina — 12 hospitals, median $1,089.00
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) cost in Arkansas — 11 hospitals, median $939.90
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) cost in Kansas — 11 hospitals, median $3,830.63
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) cost in Mississippi — 11 hospitals, median $755.63
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) cost in Maine — 7 hospitals, median $1,382.10
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) cost in South Dakota — 7 hospitals, median $2,095.20
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) cost in Alaska — 5 hospitals, median $2,978.04
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) cost in Nevada — 4 hospitals, median $1,105.04
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) cost in North Dakota — 4 hospitals, median $1,423.20
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) cost in Wyoming — 4 hospitals, median $911.40
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) cost in Hawaii — 2 hospitals, median $578.56
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) cost in Maryland — 2 hospitals, median $107.40
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) cost in Montana — 2 hospitals, median $1,148.80
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) cost in New Mexico — 2 hospitals, median $2,276.82
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) cost in Louisiana — 1 hospitals, median $353.60
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) cost in New Hampshire — 1 hospitals, median $2,107.70
Chest CT scan (without contrast) prices at hospitals
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) at UPMC Western Maryland, Cumberland — $107.40
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) at Ocean University Medical Center, Brick — $116.22
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) at Southern Ocean Medical Center, Manahawkin — $116.22
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) at Bayshore Medical Center, Holmdel — $117.70
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) at Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Neptune City — $117.70
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) at Riverview Medical Center, Red Bank — $117.70
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) at Raritan Bay Medical Center, Perth Amboy — $117.81
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) at JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute (JRI), Edison — $117.81
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) at Hackensack University Medical Center, Hackensack — $125.23
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) at Palisades Medical Center, North Bergen — $125.23
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) at Bellevue Hospital Center, NY 10016 — $125.84
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) at Kings County Hospital Center, Brooklyn — $125.84
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) at Lincoln Medical Center, Bronx — $125.84
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) at Metropolitan Hospital Center, New York — $125.84
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) at Harlem Hospital Center, New York — $125.84
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) at Woodhull Medical Center, Brooklyn — $125.84
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) at Queens Hospital Center, Jamaica — $125.84
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) at Elmhurst Hospital Center, NY 11373 — $125.84
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) at Jacobi Medical Center, Bronx — $125.84
- Chest CT scan (without contrast) at South Brooklyn Health, Brooklyn — $125.84
See every published price for Chest CT scan (without contrast): the full national range, the state and hospital breakdowns, and which hospitals charge the least.
Chest CT scan (without contrast) cost — see all prices →Sources
- RadiologyInfo (RSNA and ACR): Computed Tomography (CT) - Chest (opens in a new tab, leaves healthcosts.net)
- Wikipedia (opens in a new tab, leaves healthcosts.net)