Hairunpijit Surapa, Siripongsakun Surachate, Chotipanich Chanisa, Hiranrat Pantajaree, Narkwichean Amarin, Laosooksathit Wipada
Sonographer School, Faculty of Health Science Technology, Chulabhorn Royal Academy, Bangkok, Thailand.
Radiological Department of Central Chest Institute of Thailand, Bangkok, Thailand.
Obstet Gynecol Int. 2022 Oct 27;2022:2625242. doi: 10.1155/2022/2625242. eCollection 2022.
To evaluate the competency of medical sonographer students who have completed training to estimate the gestational age (GA) and perform fetal biometric measurements compared to obstetricians.
We conducted a cross-sectional observational study at the end of the medical sonographer students' practice sessions. In total, 80 midtrimester (18-28 weeks) pregnant women were recruited, and an ultrasound was performed according to the International Society of Sonography in Obstetrics and Gynecology (ISUOG) guideline. Estimated GA calculated from fetal biometric measurements was compared between medical sonographer students and qualified obstetricians. Subsequently, images were randomly evaluated by maternal-fetal medicine specialists to assess the measurement performance.
There was no significant difference in the estimated GA between the medical sonographer students and obstetricians (mean difference, 0.01 ± 2.92 day, = 0.89). However, there was a significant difference in the measurement of the head circumference (HC) and abdominal circumference (AC) ( < 0.001). The overall image quality of the fetal head, abdomen, and femur was considered a good to excellent score (77.5%-80%). There was a perfect and nearly perfect agreement regarding the presence of the placenta previa, adequacy of amniotic fluid, and position of the placenta ( = 0.9-1.0).
The medical sonographer students demonstrated competency in GA estimation by fetal biometry measurement similar to obstetricians. However, the quality of the acquired images, according to the ISUOG recommendation, needs improvement, and this should be emphasized in the sonography course curriculum. The results suggest that medical sonographers can relieve obstetricians' workload for ultrasound screening in midtrimester pregnancies.
评估完成培训的医学超声检查专业学生与产科医生相比，在估计孕周（GA）和进行胎儿生物测量方面的能力。
我们在医学超声检查专业学生实习课程结束时进行了一项横断面观察性研究。总共招募了80名孕中期（18 - 28周）的孕妇，并按照国际妇产科超声学会（ISUOG）指南进行超声检查。比较医学超声检查专业学生和合格产科医生根据胎儿生物测量计算出的估计孕周。随后，由母胎医学专家对图像进行随机评估，以评估测量性能。
医学超声检查专业学生和产科医生在估计孕周方面无显著差异（平均差异为0.01 ± 2.92天，P = 0.89）。然而，在头围（HC）和腹围（AC）测量方面存在显著差异（P < 0.001）。胎儿头部、腹部和股骨的整体图像质量被评为良好至优秀分数（77.5% - 80%）。在前置胎盘的存在、羊水充足情况和胎盘位置方面存在完全和几乎完全的一致性（κ = 0.9 - 1.0）。
医学超声检查专业学生通过胎儿生物测量估计孕周的能力与产科医生相似。然而，根据ISUOG建议，所获取图像的质量需要改进，这一点应在超声课程中得到强调。结果表明，医学超声检查人员可以减轻产科医生在孕中期超声筛查方面的工作量。
