The most popular types of ultrasound are named

Over the past decades, ultrasound diagnostics has become firmly established in our lives. Today this method is one of the main assistants to the doctor when making a diagnosis. And it seems that patients also know everything about ultrasound. But is it? The head of the ultrasound diagnostics department of the National Research Center No. 2 of the Russian Scientific Center for Surgery named after. acad. B.V. Petrovsky, candidate of medical sciences Elena Aleksandrovna MARUSHCHAK.

— Elena Aleksandrovna, what does ultrasound “see”?

“Now it is difficult to imagine working in evidence-based medicine without using this method of instrumental diagnostics both when examining a patient and even during surgical interventions. During the examination, the ultrasound doctor sees the organ, its shape and structure, surrounding tissues, observes how the blood supply occurs, and in some cases evaluates the functioning of the organ. Ultrasound “sees” the early stages of the disease, even before symptoms appear. The particular value of the method is that the research takes place in real time. Here and now you can focus on a particular organ, structure, identified change, conduct additional tests or use additional modes and sensors if in doubt. And now we come to a very important aspect. Ultrasound is an operator-dependent method. Its quality (and by this we mean diagnostic value) directly depends on the qualifications of the doctor.

— Does ultrasound replace studies such as MRI and CT?

— Ultrasound does not replace other instrumental diagnostic methods, just as they cannot replace ultrasound. Each method has its own indications and makes it possible to obtain exactly the information that the attending physician needs.

— What are the most popular ultrasound examinations? Which ones are considered rare?

— Ultrasound is a highly informative, non-traumatic and relatively affordable study, which makes this method perhaps the most popular purpose in instrumental diagnostics. Therefore, almost every ultrasound scan is now widely performed throughout the world. There are studies, the frequency of which is limited by the need for additional training of doctors in ultrasound diagnostics or the technical capabilities of the equipment. Such studies include ultrasound of nerves, skin, transcranial duplex scans (studies of cerebral vessels), elastometry (fibroscanning) of the liver and some others. Therefore, we rarely see these studies in lists of medical center services.

— Do I need special preparation for an ultrasound examination? Which?

— For some types of examinations, for example, ultrasound of the thyroid gland or pleural cavities, no special preparation is needed. For others, you need to prepare. And this preparation is different for different studies. Ultrasound of the pelvic organs in women is performed on a certain day of the menstrual cycle. Before an ultrasound of the bladder, you need to first fill it. The patient is usually informed about the necessary preparation for a specific type of ultrasound when scheduling the study.

— What are the contraindications for ultrasound? Is it possible to do ultrasound frequently? What are the restrictions for its use?

— As with any other medical services, there are a number of contraindications and/or restrictions for ultrasound diagnostics, but they are quite rare. The attending physician determines indications and contraindications for the study, as well as their frequency and frequency. Despite the simplicity of the ultrasound procedure for the patient and its availability, it must be prescribed and interpreted by a specialist.

— Does the result of an ultrasound replace a trip to a specialized doctor? What does ultrasound not “see”?

— The conclusion of an ultrasound examination is not a clinical diagnosis and is interpreted by the attending physician. Doing “research for research’s sake” is not practical. All patients come to the doctor with the ultimate goal of finding out: what is happening to them, what is the prognosis and how to treat it. These are serious questions, the answers to which can only be obtained based on an analysis of a set of data, such as examination, collection of complaints, anamnesis, study of analyzes and other research methods. This is what the attending physician does at the appointment.

“And yet it seems that for a doctor, performing ultrasound diagnostics is also a fairly simple procedure. If you have good equipment, you will get an accurate result. But are there any special traits or qualities that a diagnostic ultrasound specialist needs?

— An ultrasound diagnostic doctor must have broad knowledge in various fields of medicine. Each area of ​​interest must be known from a clinician’s perspective. It is not enough to just learn anatomy and physiology. It is very important to understand the diseases of the organs being studied, how they progress, what complications there may be, what happens when performing a particular operation, or carrying out complex treatment. This allows the ultrasound diagnostician to correctly formulate a conclusion, and the clinician to make a diagnosis and determine treatment tactics. For example, it is impossible to assess the condition of the arteries of the lower extremities in a patient after surgical treatment if you do not know the technique of performing this operation and how the anatomy of the vascular bed changes after it, and what complications are possible. That is why the ultrasound diagnostic doctor may ask certain questions regarding the disease during the examination, and it is always useful for the patient to have with him extracts from the medical documentation regarding the current examination.

And, of course, ultrasound diagnostics always means working with a person face to face. Every day we are faced with the experiences of patients, with their ignorance, anxiety, fear and doubts. Therefore, it is very important to have empathy, to be able to listen and hear, to speak correctly with patients, and to try to bring maximum benefit from the research performed.

Published in the newspaper “Moskovsky Komsomolets” No. 29118 dated September 20, 2023

Newspaper headline:
Warm tube ultrasound