Bedside ultrasound has greatly improved patient care over the years and alleviated the invasive procedures which may not be necessary most times.
While this non-invasive practice seem to be a blessing many practitioners may have knowingly or unknown abuse it's use. Sonography is a medical profession which has trained professionals working with other colleagues to achieve accurate diagnosis, while not all medical practitioners are Sonographers, most times they make certain request for ultrasound examination that may look very ridiculous to the Sonographer. Below are some ridiculous ultrasound request a sonographer may have encountered.
1. R/o Cephalopelvic disproportion (CPD), this is usually determined via physical examination during active labor. Ultrasound is used in estimating fetal size but not totally reliable for determining fetal weight. A physical examination that measures pelvic size can often be the most accurate method for diagnosing CPD.
2. Left iliac fossa (LIF) pain r/o appendicitis, knowledge of abdominal anatomy is key in determining the possible organ involved in abdominal tenderness. To rule out appendicitis in the left iliac region is ridiculous.
3. Dating in active labor, why would anybody query date of delivery when labor is already in it's active phase? Ridiculous
4. Biophysical profile (BPP) at <20weeks gestation, A BPP is commonly done in the last trimesterof pregnancy. If there is a chance that your baby may have problems during your pregnancy (high-risk pregnancy), a BPP may be done by 32 to 34 weeks or earlier. Some women with high-risk pregnancies may have a BPP test every week or twice a week in the third trimester.
5. Blank request form, this is likened to a journey with a purpose. The simplest thing to do is to send the patient back without a scan.
There maybe several reasons why we may overlook these mistakes, sometimes due to work overload, oversight on the part of the physician or even ignorance as to what examination to request but they are still ridiculous!
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