Pelvic CT scan (with and without contrast)

This scans the pelvis twice, before and after iodine contrast is injected. The pairing is what makes it useful: something that is already bright on the plain scan, such as a stone or old blood, can be told apart from something that is bright only because it took up dye.

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What it is

Most pelvic CT scans are single-pass studies, with contrast or without depending on the question. This code covers the less common two-pass version, and the reason to run both is comparison. Iodine contrast makes tissue with a blood supply brighter — but calcium, dense stones, surgical clips and recent bleeding are already bright before anything is injected. If you only have the enhanced pictures, you cannot tell which is which. Imaging first without dye establishes the baseline, and the difference between the two passes is the finding. In the pelvis that usually concerns a mass whose nature is in question, the urinary tract, or a structure that has been operated on.

Why it is done

To characterize a mass in the pelvis by seeing how much dye it takes up
To assess the bladder, ureters and surrounding tissue when both stones and enhancement are in question
To evaluate the pelvis after surgery, where clips, packing material and new tissue all have to be told apart
To stage or follow a cancer involving pelvic organs or lymph nodes
To investigate bleeding into the pelvis, where the unenhanced pass establishes what was already dense

What to expect

Patients are usually asked not to eat for a period beforehand, and are asked about contrast allergies and kidney function. Oral contrast is sometimes given to drink an hour or more before the appointment, which is often the longest part of the visit. An IV is placed for the injected contrast; when it goes in there is a spreading warmth and frequently a sensation of having wet yourself, which is expected and does not happen. The scanning itself is fast — the table passes through the ring in under a minute for each set — with a breath hold for each pass. Two passes means roughly twice the radiation of a single-pass pelvic CT. There are no restrictions afterward, and drinking fluids helps clear the contrast.

Questions worth asking

Ask whether the order is for the pelvis alone or for the abdomen and pelvis together. The combined study is its own code and its own price, and the two are easy to confuse on a requisition.
Ask whether a single-pass scan would answer the question — with contrast only, or without contrast only, are separate and lower-priced codes.
Oral contrast, IV contrast and any pre-medication for allergy can each appear as their own line. Ask for the estimate to include them.
If this is being done during an emergency department visit, ask what portion of the final bill is the facility fee rather than the scan.
Ask whether the images will be released to you on request, so a specialist seeing you later does not order the same two-pass study again.

What Pelvic CT scan (with and without contrast) costs by state

Pelvic CT scan (with and without contrast) cost in Texas — 113 hospitals, median $2,545.00
Pelvic CT scan (with and without contrast) cost in California — 90 hospitals, median $2,860.00
Pelvic CT scan (with and without contrast) cost in Florida — 70 hospitals, median $5,196.71
Pelvic CT scan (with and without contrast) cost in Ohio — 67 hospitals, median $1,527.50
Pelvic CT scan (with and without contrast) cost in Illinois — 51 hospitals, median $2,520.00
Pelvic CT scan (with and without contrast) cost in Virginia — 39 hospitals, median $1,753.50
Pelvic CT scan (with and without contrast) cost in Tennessee — 38 hospitals, median $653.07
Pelvic CT scan (with and without contrast) cost in Wisconsin — 33 hospitals, median $1,901.90
Pelvic CT scan (with and without contrast) cost in Washington — 32 hospitals, median $1,742.15
Pelvic CT scan (with and without contrast) cost in Pennsylvania — 28 hospitals, median $1,533.00
Pelvic CT scan (with and without contrast) cost in Michigan — 27 hospitals, median $2,131.00
Pelvic CT scan (with and without contrast) cost in Indiana — 26 hospitals, median $971.00
Pelvic CT scan (with and without contrast) cost in Georgia — 25 hospitals, median $1,872.00
Pelvic CT scan (with and without contrast) cost in Iowa — 24 hospitals, median $1,844.70
Pelvic CT scan (with and without contrast) cost in Arizona — 23 hospitals, median $566.65
Pelvic CT scan (with and without contrast) cost in Kentucky — 23 hospitals, median $2,918.40
Pelvic CT scan (with and without contrast) cost in New Jersey — 22 hospitals, median $464.82
Pelvic CT scan (with and without contrast) cost in New York — 22 hospitals, median $210.66
Pelvic CT scan (with and without contrast) cost in Missouri — 20 hospitals, median $1,413.75
Pelvic CT scan (with and without contrast) cost in Minnesota — 19 hospitals, median $1,824.98
Pelvic CT scan (with and without contrast) cost in Colorado — 17 hospitals, median $7,257.67
Pelvic CT scan (with and without contrast) cost in Oklahoma — 17 hospitals, median $1,918.15
Pelvic CT scan (with and without contrast) cost in West Virginia — 17 hospitals, median $1,394.00
Pelvic CT scan (with and without contrast) cost in North Carolina — 14 hospitals, median $2,101.63
Pelvic CT scan (with and without contrast) cost in Nebraska — 13 hospitals, median $1,565.00
Pelvic CT scan (with and without contrast) cost in Oregon — 12 hospitals, median $1,027.50
Pelvic CT scan (with and without contrast) cost in Arkansas — 11 hospitals, median $1,704.95
Pelvic CT scan (with and without contrast) cost in Kansas — 11 hospitals, median $4,920.65
Pelvic CT scan (with and without contrast) cost in South Carolina — 10 hospitals, median $1,918.80
Pelvic CT scan (with and without contrast) cost in Mississippi — 9 hospitals, median $1,024.59
Pelvic CT scan (with and without contrast) cost in Maine — 7 hospitals, median $2,504.65
Pelvic CT scan (with and without contrast) cost in South Dakota — 7 hospitals, median $2,626.40
Pelvic CT scan (with and without contrast) cost in Nevada — 4 hospitals, median $2,051.03
Pelvic CT scan (with and without contrast) cost in North Dakota — 4 hospitals, median $2,460.00
Pelvic CT scan (with and without contrast) cost in Wyoming — 4 hospitals, median $2,685.00
Pelvic CT scan (with and without contrast) cost in Alaska — 3 hospitals, median $3,591.12
Pelvic CT scan (with and without contrast) cost in Hawaii — 2 hospitals, median $795.20
Pelvic CT scan (with and without contrast) cost in Maryland — 2 hospitals, median $166.80
Pelvic CT scan (with and without contrast) cost in Montana — 2 hospitals, median $1,828.80
Pelvic CT scan (with and without contrast) cost in New Mexico — 2 hospitals, median $2,887.92
Pelvic CT scan (with and without contrast) cost in Louisiana — 1 hospitals, median $487.76
Pelvic CT scan (with and without contrast) cost in New Hampshire — 1 hospitals, median $3,125.30

Pelvic CT scan (with and without contrast) prices at hospitals

See every published price for Pelvic CT scan (with and without contrast): the full national range, the state and hospital breakdowns, and which hospitals charge the least.

Pelvic CT scan (with and without contrast) cost — see all prices →

Sources

RadiologyInfo (RSNA and ACR): CT of the Abdomen and Pelvis (opens in a new tab, leaves healthcosts.net)
MedlinePlus: Abdominal CT scan (opens in a new tab, leaves healthcosts.net)
RadiologyInfo (RSNA and ACR): Contrast Materials (opens in a new tab, leaves healthcosts.net)

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