Are <scp>CT</scp> head scans justified in patients with cirrhosis presenting to the <scp>ED</scp> with hepatic encephalopathy?

Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a neuropsychiatric complication of liver disease. Our retrospective audit of patients with cirrhosis presenting to the emergency department (ED) over a 2-year period with altered mental status found that 37% of computed tomography (CT) head scans were performed unnecessarily, yielding no abnormalities. Findings support limiting CT use in low-risk cases to reduce radiation exposure, ED duration and healthcare costs.