The American College of Veterinary Radiology (ACVR) and the European College of Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging (ECVDI) are excited to launch a consensus statement for abdominal ultrasound standardisation created by their joint committee.
The consensus statement, entitled “ACVR and ECVDI consensus statement for the standardisation of the abdominal ultrasound examination”, is published open access in Veterinary Radiology and Ultrasound to enable widespread dissemination and outreach to those performing abdominal ultrasound in practice.
Dr Gabi Seiler, professor at North Carolina State University, acted as the chair of the subcommittee and corresponding author of the first consensus statement.
She plans to use the standard in the clinic setting to guide ultrasound examinations and documentation, as well as using it as a handout for students learning ultrasound and for attendees at ultrasound CPD courses.
“It was helpful to have a committee of many radiologists with different backgrounds and different work environments, from academia to private practice and teleultrasonography,” Gabi recalled.
“Every comment and suggestion was discussed by the committee – even if not included because our consensus opinion differed.”
The consensus statement offers a clear, illustrated guideline on the views, movie clips and measurements that should be acquired for a complete abdominal ultrasound. It includes:
- Illustrated images for each organ or system
- Tables listing still images and video clips to be acquired
- Recommendations on documentation, patient preparation, and equipment
Ultrasound is a modality that is easily accessible to veterinarians and technologists as well as other specialists.
These guidelines can be used as a tool to enable consistent image quality across practitioners and aid in interpretation.
The consensus statement is available open access in the journal Veterinary Radiology & Ultrasound.
The ACVR and ECVDI envision this consensus statement being used as a teaching tool in practice, academia, and continuing education.
As leaders and experts in the modality of diagnostic ultrasound, they wish to foster the highest quality of ultrasound imaging to benefit owners and patients seeking veterinary care, and to maximise the information that can be interpreted from the documented images.
The ACVR is the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) recognized veterinary speciality organization for certification of Radiology, Radiation Oncology and Equine Diagnostic Imaging.
