An Assessment of Women’s Knowledge of and Views on the Reporting of Ultrasound Soft Markers During the Routine Anatomy Ultrasound Examination

Cash, Rebecca; Manogaran, Myuri; Sroka, Hana; Okun, Nan

doi:10.1016/s1701-2163(16)34425-5

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…On the contrary, in a prospective Canadian survey of women booked for a (routine) anatomy ultrasound examination in second trimester, only 6% of women were hesitant or clearly did not want to know about soft markers if they were seen. However, 23% of the study participants stated that soft markers should be reported only after the woman has been counselled and given her consent [ 33 ]. Our study, which is the first to report obstetricians’ views on the use of ultrasound, in conjunction with the number of publications that report on women’s limited understanding of the purpose and potential of the scan [ 2 , 13 , 17 ], provides evidence for the utter importance of appropriate counselling prior to the examination.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Ultrasound is an invaluable third eye, but it can’t see everything’: a qualitative study with obstetricians in Australia

Edvardsson

Small

Persson

et al. 2014

BMC Pregnancy Childbirth

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BackgroundObstetric ultrasound has come to play a significant role in obstetrics since its introduction in clinical care. Today, most pregnant women in the developed world are exposed to obstetric ultrasound examinations, and there is no doubt that the advantages of obstetric ultrasound technique have led to improvements in pregnancy outcomes. However, at the same time, the increasing use has also raised many ethical challenges. This study aimed to explore obstetricians’ experiences of the significance of obstetric ultrasound for clinical management of complicated pregnancy and their perceptions of expectant parents’ experiences.MethodsA qualitative study was undertaken in November 2012 as part of the CROss-Country Ultrasound Study (CROCUS). Semi-structured individual interviews were held with 14 obstetricians working at two large hospitals in Victoria, Australia. Transcribed data underwent qualitative content analysis.ResultsAn overall theme emerged during the analyses, ‘Obstetric ultrasound - a third eye’, reflecting the significance and meaning of ultrasound in pregnancy, and the importance of the additional information that ultrasound offers clinicians managing the surveillance of a pregnant woman and her fetus. This theme was built on four categories: I:‘Everyday-tool’ for pregnancy surveillance, II: Significance for managing complicated pregnancy, III: Differing perspectives on obstetric ultrasound, and IV: Counselling as a balancing act. In summary, the obstetricians viewed obstetric ultrasound as an invaluable tool in their everyday practice. More importantly however, the findings emphasise some of the clinical dilemmas that occur due to its use: the obstetricians’ and expectant parents’ differing perspectives and expectations of obstetric ultrasound examinations, the challenges of uncertain ultrasound findings, and how this information was conveyed and balanced by obstetricians in counselling expectant parents.ConclusionsThis study highlights a range of previously rarely acknowledged clinical dilemmas that obstetricians face in relation to the use of obstetric ultrasound. Despite being a tool of considerable significance in the surveillance of pregnancy, there are limitations and uncertainties that arise with its use that make counselling expectant parents challenging. Research is needed which further investigates the effects and experiences of the continuing worldwide rapid technical advances in surveillance of pregnancies.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Ultrasound is an invaluable third eye, but it can’t see everything’: a qualitative study with obstetricians in Australia

Edvardsson

Small

Persson

et al. 2014

BMC Pregnancy Childbirth

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“…In interpreting our findings, contextual understanding of women's experiences is important. Specifically, women in the SS − /US + group may be unprepared to learn about the detection of soft markers, especially if they are approaching the ultrasound simply as a chance “to see the baby.” Not all guidelines include reference to the importance of talking about soft markers during prenatal visits and studies have shown that women often have little knowledge about soft markers prior to their ultrasound . Perhaps the very nature of soft markers (directly observable features) results in their being perceived as more “real,” and producing stronger negative emotional reactions than serum screen results, which are perhaps less tangible.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of increased risk for fetal aneuploidy on maternal mood: a prospective longitudinal study

Nevay

Hippman

Inglis

et al. 2016

Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand

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“…The majority of prospective parents consider the examination as routine prenatal care rather than a medical examination for birth defects (Ekelin et al 2004). Usually, they are not aware that the examination is a means of prenatal screening for aneuploidy (Cash et al 2010) and do not know what could be found during the ultrasound examination, or the significance of an observed marker. Couples, who receive an ultrasound report indicating the presence of soft markers, often feel both worried and confused, and many consider the information provided prior to the screening to be insufficient (Ahman et al 2010;Green et al 2004;Larsson et al 2009).…”

Section: Introduction Ultrasound and Genetic Soft Markersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Swedish University Students’ Opinion Regarding Information About Soft Markers

Roshanai

Labas

Nordin

et al. 2015

Journal of Genetic Counseling

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The aim of this study was to investigate the opinions of Swedish university students about information regarding soft markers, when observed at second trimester ultrasound screening. A cross-sectional survey, where 85 Swedish university students completed a study specific questionnaire containing eleven hypothetical scenarios, involving various parameters (disease/syndromes/malformations with different characteristics), and location of the markers. Almost all participants indicated that they would wish to be informed, prior to the ultrasound examination, about the assessment and significance of soft markers. However, the number of respondents who requested information about a potential actual finding was considerably less. Several participants wanted to be informed about detected markers associated to serious conditions but not when the marker indicated an increased risk for a treatable disease. Also, the specific location of the marker was of importance to the participants. The majority of respondents wished to be informed about the soft markers if they were observed in the heart or the brain of the foetus, compared to if they were located in the intestine or the skeleton. The students' opinion, in this study, implicate the importance of pre-examination information to enable expectant parents to make informed choice regarding the second trimester ultrasound screening as well as on reciving information of actual findings.

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An Assessment of Women’s Knowledge of and Views on the Reporting of Ultrasound Soft Markers During the Routine Anatomy Ultrasound Examination

Cited by 5 publications

References 8 publications

‘Ultrasound is an invaluable third eye, but it can’t see everything’: a qualitative study with obstetricians in Australia

‘Ultrasound is an invaluable third eye, but it can’t see everything’: a qualitative study with obstetricians in Australia

Impact of increased risk for fetal aneuploidy on maternal mood: a prospective longitudinal study

Swedish University Students’ Opinion Regarding Information About Soft Markers

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