Dad in hospital, why would they do a CT scan on chest?

[Overseasmom100]

He's in with a chest infection after being diagnosed at home with racing heart so admitted him to hosp. Theyve done a chest xray 6 days ago and treating for chest infection with ABs but now want to do a CT scan...he has a past history of lung cancer. Do you think they think it's come back?
No one is saying...just going on what nurses are reading from notes

I suspect they are checking, that doesn't mean it has!

I've not got a medical background and can only go on what happened to my mum before Christmas. It seems to me that they are using CT scans a lot more now for diagnosing illnesses. With my mum it was though she had pneumonia. I would encourage you to speak to the nurses or the doctor who is looking after your dad and tell them what you are worried about. When I've done that, they've always given me a good explanation about what they are testing for.

They've never done it before when he's been in and out of hosp. Just strange

Nurses just read from the file dont seem to know.

My OH is having a CT scan on his chest tomorrow and its specifically to check if his throat cancer has spread to the lungs. Would seem sensible they check our dad given his past history. Hope all works out well for your dad

I had one to rule out a pulmonary embolism. It was a very strange experience, the stuff the give you makes it feel like you've wet yourself...

Dr here. If he’s had lung cancer before then they will obviously be checking that it hadn’t come back, esp if there are changes on the X-ray. But there are a long list of other reasons why they could be doing it- better idea of the spread of infection, checking for fluid on the lungs, checking for blood clots, checking for vessel abnormalities, looking for lung collapse. Ask at the ward round in the morning.

Tests (scan, blood etc) can be used for multiple reasons, but overall to get a better idea of what is going on at a deeper layer. Try not to jump to conclusions. It would be better to speak with his medical team than ask for medical information here.

Here is a good place to talk though, are you looking after yourself - eating, drinking, trying to sleep?

CT shows better imaging of chest.

They will want to work out exactly what is wrong- eg. bacterial infection, fungal infection, cancer. All look different on a CT scan, it gives a much more accurate image than X ray at all angles and sections of the lungs

As he has a history of lung cancer, it's sensible to rule that out, but doesn't necessarily mean that's what they think it is. Hopefully the CT will be able to show that

Hope he's ok

Could be looking for a number of things. Lung cancer is one thing to rule out but they could also be considering a pocket of infection or fluid outside the lung in the chest space, or a blood clot.

Hoping you get some answers soon and he's feeling better x