Abstract
Welcome to the third issue of 2022. At the time of writing this, British Medical Ultrasound Society (BMUS) council is putting its plans together for the next 2 years. BMUS is keen to ensure that we continue to offer our members the best from their membership including education; professional guidance; and of course this journal. We are all looking forward to our first face-to-face Scientific Meeting since 2019. Ben Stenberg has put together a fantastic programme for all of us to enjoy in Cardiff.
In this issue, I am excited to offer you a good mix of review articles, original research, a pictorial essay and a case report. This issue includes topics including sonographer-led discharge in obstetrics; upper limb musculoskeletal; elastography of the placenta in pregnancy; a case report of a foetal intrathoracic cyst; lower limb venous imaging; part two of the post-Caesarean delivery complications; point-of-care contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) of the lung in COVID patients; and fusion imaging in liver ablations in cases of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
A review by Elmes and Phillips explores whether the cerebroplacental ratio, calculated from pulsatility indices of the umbilical artery and foetal middle cerebral artery, could be incorporated into clinical practice as another predictor for poor perinatal outcome. It has potential but requires more research first.
A team from Singapore presents four cases highlighting the usefulness of fusion in the assessment of HCC. They show the benefits of use in ablation cases whereby B-mode imaging alone proved difficult to visualise lesions clearly.
Using a small cohort of 14 patients, Tee et al. show the potential benefits of CEUS for diagnosing COVID-19 in lungs by identifying microthrombi and assessing subpleural (small) consolidation appearances. They suggest that bedside CEUS may add diagnostic confidence in low-resource environments where computed tomography (CT) may not be available.
Richards and Kettlewell explore attitudes, experiences and perceptions of sonographers involved in obstetric sonographer-led discharge. They also touch on other forms of role extension undertaken by the sonography workforce. Common themes on advantages and barriers are identified. In view of current staff shortages, the authors emphasise the need to retain practitioners through job satisfaction and a proper career structure, by ensuring role development is available for all, not just a few.
Yuine et al. describe a method of measuring wrist joint instability, which may translate clinically to identifying triangular fibrocartilage complex injury earlier, perhaps through screening at sports events, and then later it may have a role in assisting with rehabilitation.
A team from India looks at the use of shear wave elastography in the assessment of the placenta to predict preeclampsia. Their findings provide useful sensitivity and specificity. These findings may be useful in future assessment of high-risk patients.
Liu et al. present the results from an interesting survey investigating lower limb venous scan practices in Australia and New Zealand. Perhaps unsurprisingly, there was a wide variation in examination technique and terminology used in report writing, both of which may well impact on subsequent treatment plans. I suspect that the same variation might be found where a similar survey was performed on UK sonographers.
Following on from the last issue, here is part 2 of the excellent Caesarean section pictorial essay from the same team in Singapore. Part 2 focuses on non-pregnant and pregnancy-related complications associated with C-sections.
Two authors from Chile present a rare and interesting case of a first trimester transient thoracic cyst, which will be of interest to the obstetric community. Its origin remained unknown, but it was in close proximity to the heart.
I hope that you enjoy this edition of the Ultrasound, and I can assure you that the November edition will be just as full of new and exciting new research.