To investigate the current status of pelvic floor ultrasound examination in Henan Province, and to explore the existing problems in pelvic floor ultrasound examination.

A "Notice on the investigation of pelvic floor ultrasound technology in Henan Province" was issued by Henan Province Ultrasound Medical Quality Control Center to ultrasound and related departments of various types at various levels in Henan Province. The investigation was performed from April 1, 2021 to July 31, 2021 and included questionnaire and image data submission. The questionnaire included whether pelvic floor ultrasound examination has been carried out, hospital level, reasons for not carrying out, number and professional title of doctors participating in the examination, number of patients monthly, etc. The imaging data involved three cases submitted by each hospital, with each case including 12 images and videos. Henan Province Ultrasound Medical Quality Control Center evaluated the quality of cases with reference to the AIUM/IUGA Practice Parameter for the Performance of Urogynecological Ultrasound Examinations and Pelvic Floor Ultrasonic Quality Control Process in Henan Province, including completeness of submitted cases, image score, etc. The χ²-test was used to compare the difference in the implementation rate of pelvic floor ultrasound examination, image submission rate, and completeness rate of submitted data and 12 images between different levels of hospitals, and one-way ANOVA was used to compare the difference among 12 images.

The investigation involved a total of 110 hospitals in Henan Province, of which 82 (74.5%, 82/110) had carried out real-time three-dimensional pelvic floor ultrasound examination. The highest rate was found in tertiary grade A hospitals (94.94%), which was significantly higher than those of other hospitals (χ²=18.84, P＜0.001). Twenty-eight (25.5%, 28/110) hospitals have yet to carry out, and the reasons for not carrying out were no mature technology, no suitable ultrasound examination instruments, and no relevant clinical needs. The number of doctors participating in the examination was less than 10, professional title was mostly attending doctor, and the number of patients was mostly 1-50 cases monthly. Of the 82 hospitals that have carried out the examination, 54 (65.85%, 54/82) submitted the cases. The highest submission rate occurred in tertiary grade A hospitals (81.08%), which was significantly higher than those of other hospitals (χ²=10.19, P=0.015). Of the 54 hospitals that submitted the cases, 38 (70.37%) submitted complete information. The image completion rates of resting-state middle sagittal image (measured) and maximum Valsalva state middle sagittal image (measured) were both 100%, which were significantly higher (P＜0.05) than those of the remaining 10 images and videos that were all incomplete. The image completion rates did not differ between any two of the 10 images (P＞0.05). There was a significant difference in the image completion rate between images scored greater than and less than 8 (P＜0.05).

Pelvic floor ultrasound examination has been preliminarily carried out in hospitals of all levels in Henan Province, but there are still some problems, such as insufficient technical promotion, incomplete case data, non-standard operation, and non-standard image.