Abstract:

Objective

To establish a standard ultrasound examination protocol for early pregnancy and verify its application effectiveness.

Methods

A standard ultrasound examination protocol for early pregnancy was developed by experts in Peking Union Medical College Hospital. The standard consists of 4 standard sections:the uterine cervical longitudinal section, the uterine transverse section, the fetal bud (head buttock length) section,and the bilateral ovarian section. Thirty-three residents underwent training of this protocol from May to June 2022,and 20-30 early pregnancy ultrasound reports were collected from each resident from November 2021 to April 2022 (before training) and from July to December 2022 (after training) separately. The t-test was used to compare the difference in the quality of ultrasound reports before and after training.

Results

Seven hundred and eightynine ultrasound reports of early pregnancy were selected before training. The qualified rate of the ultrasound reports for different imaging sections was: the uterine cervical longitudinal section, (46.1±27.7)%, the uterine transverse section: (89.2±4.2)%, the fetal bud (head buttock length) section: (93.0±40.1)%, and the bilateral ovarian section:(58.2±27.8)%. Seven hundred and ninety-five ultrasound reports of early pregnancy were selected after training.The qualified rate of the ultrasound reports for different imaging sections was: the uterine cervical longitudinal section, (84.9±15.8)%, the uterine transverse section: (97.8±3.3)%, the fetal bud (head buttock length) section:(94.1±34.7)%, and the bilateral ovarian section: (79.5±19.5)%. The qualified rates of the reports in the uterine cervical longitudinal section and bilateral ovarian section after training were significantly higher than those before training (t=-6.896 and -3.315, respectively; both P＜0.001).

Conclusion

Training on early pregnancy ultrasound examination can significantly improve the qualified rate of standardized ultrasound reports, ensuring the medical quality and safety of prenatal ultrasound examination.

Key words: Ultrasound, Early pregnanoy, Fetus, Standardized examinations, Training evaluation