Organisation and practice of radiological ultrasound in Europe: a survey by the ESR Working Group on Ultrasound

Several considerations are raised from the results of this survey.

First, there was a low response rate to the survey itself. There were only 123 answers to the 913 received messages asking for information from radiology department heads (a mere 13 %). It is hoped that this low response rate relates to the many committments on their side and not to low interest in the role of US within radiology [2, 3].

Second, most responders indicated that US is still an important part of the activities of the radiology department. Only 9.3 % report fewer than 3,000 examinations/year. It must be noted that there may be a bias in these figures, since it is conceivable that responders were more interested in US than those who did not answer the questionnaire (even if there were responders who indicated that, in their hospital, US is done mostly outside of the radiology department). Most of the workload is due to abdomino-pelvic exams, followed by breast, musculoskeletal and vascular applications. Furthermore, state-of-the-art equipment is used in about 50 % and CEUS can be performed in 64.2 %. Portable machines are available in 64.5 %, transvaginal US examinations of the pelvis are used in 50.7 %, and radiologists are still involved in intraoperative US examinations in 64.2 % of cases. Most departments still have the technical capabilities to provide up-to-date US answers to the requests they receive.

Another consideration relates to the organisation of US within the hospital. In most cases US machines are scattered throughout the different departments, and only 13 hospitals have organised a centralised US laboratory where all physicians from different specialities come to examine their patients. Although centralisation seems the best way to run a US service, there are several factors that can explain why this is not the case, many of which stem from tradition. US laboratories, in fact, commonly arose separately from one another, following the initiatives of the different specialists who started introducing this technique in their practice. Then, there is a disposition to maintain independence and separate departmental income from the activities as well as the desire to control all aspects of patients’ care.

Only 15 departments reported they are working with sonographers. Although it is known that in Europe most radiologists perform US examinations directly, it is believed that this figure underestimates the real contribution of these professionals. A possible explanation is that only three hospitals from the UK answered the questionnaire; in the UK sonographers play a major role in dealing with the US workload.

Most answers to the questionnaire came from teaching hospitals (91.1 %). Comments on how training is organised state that US scanning is commonly regarded as an art, taught from maestro to pupil, with progressive growth in scanning and reporting capabilities. In addition, most report that US is taught within an organ-/system-oriented training system. The “art” of US is highly dependent on the operator’s dedication and technical ability, and this has to be properly taught. Additionally, a period of training within a dedicated US laboratory is probably needed to learn the basics of scanning techniques. After learning the technique, working in an organ-oriented manner is surely the best way to learn how to integrate diagnostic US within the clinical context and with all other imaging techniques.

There were 13 teaching hospitals in which fewer than 4 months is deemed sufficient, and in 20 cases having fewer than 500 examinations before the end of the residency is regarded as complete training.

The low number of US examinations performed in some training centres can jeopardise teaching. The recruitment of patients for adequate training can be impossibile to obtain in low-volume practices, leading to a further decrease of radiological US for future generations of radiologists. Furthermore, the use of sonographers can make teaching the practical skills of US scanning difficult. In a hospital with high-volume US practice (45,000 cases/year) in which the examinations are performed by sonographers, residents are asked to remain in the US laboratory only for 2–3 months and to perform only 100 examinations before the end of training. When in clinical practice in a hospital without sonographers, these radiologists would not be able to carry out even routine diagnostic US examinations. On the contrary, the role of expert sonographers as a resource to provide practical training to radiology residents has not been considered and can be explored.

The results of this survey show a large heterogeneity in the use of US within radiology throughout Europe. There are hospitals in which the majority of US examinations are still performed by radiologists, and others in which radiologists are left with only a small proportions of studies.

Similar findings were observed by Schnyder et al. in 1999 [1]. From their survey in 17 academic radiology departments throughout Europe, these authors reported that in some nations radiologists had full control of US, while this was not the case in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The situation seems somewhat worse today, since there are 22 hospitals (18.2 %) in different nations (Austria, Poland, Germany, France, UK, Norway, Switzerland and Italy) in which radiologists perform less than 70 % of all US examinations and 5 (4 %) who answered they do less than 10 % of the studies. Since the answers to the questionnaire were provided by radiology departments, the figures for radiological activity can be considered as precise. On the contrary, it is possible that those answers on the US activities out of radiology can be regarded as an estimate. However, to the best of our knowledge, the data in the survey of Schnyder et al. were also obtained in a similar way, and a comparison can thus be made.

The percent decrease in the number of US examinations done in radiology vs. those performed outside radiology is probably related to a marked increase of the use of US by non-radiology clinicians rather than to a decreased attention to this technique by radiologists. In fact, new specialists, such as emergency physicians and anesthesiologists, are now using this technique as a complement to their visit or as a guide to therapeutic manoeuvres, and the so-called “point-of-care US” philosophy, in which US equipment accompanies the physician at the patient’s bedside to guide his/her therapeutic decision making, is gaining popularity.

An additional point to be considered relates to the recording of US reports and images into the hospital informations system and PACS. US examinations performed by radiologists are archived within the PACS system in 85.6 %, while those performed by non-radiologists are stored in only 18.3 % of cases. Furthermore, radiologists provide a formal report in virtually all cases, while examinations performed out of radiology are formally reported in 64.4 %. Costs and technical difficulties in connecting all equipment to PACS and RIS are described as reasons for not recording US images, and this is especially the case for recording of video clips. The use of “point-of-care US” is a further difficulty for connecting equipment to PACS, and, within this framework, the US exam is not regarded as a separate study but as part of the physician visit. However, to have all US images and reports of the patient recorded and available for consultation could greatly help during subsequent studies, and efforts have to be made to develop consensus with clinical colleagues to increase connectivity and to report all US studies, at least as a description within the patients’ charts. Within the framework of the relationships established by the ESR WG in US with the European Federation of Societies for Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology (EFSUMB), it has been agreed to prepare and publish a recommendation about the necessity, for all US examinations, of a formal report and proper archiving of both report and images.