Assessment of awareness of ultrasound safety among ultrasound users in King Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Background: Ultrasound (US) is an imaging method with significant diagnostic value; it is one of the most important diagnostic tools used by a wide range of health-care professionals across many applications. Objective: Evaluate the knowledge on implementation of the safety of diagnostic ultrasound (US) and the extent of perception of users in South King Saudi Arabia (KSA) regarding safety aspects of diagnostic methods. Methodology: This cross-sectional descriptive survey was conducted in Saudi Arabia between October 2019 and September 2020. US operators used an online questionnaire in public and private Hospitals. Data were analyzed using the SPSS software program using appropriate statistical tests. Results: A total of 105 respondents of US operators completed the questionnaires. Most of them specialized in radiology (71.4%), whereas the remaining are physicians and obstetricians. A 50.5% of the US operators responded to the correct answer for US safe in the first trimester, 21.9% responded it is safe in the second trimester, and 34.3% in the third trimester. In comparison between operators about the knowledge safety issue, sonographers have a better knowledge of US safety than others (P = 0.02), whereas females have significant experience than males (P = 0.033). Qualified US operators with postgraduate studies were significantly more knowledgeable about US safety than others (P = 0.04). Conclusions: The qualification of US users has a significant impact on US safety knowledge. Practice and awareness of US safety among US operators in KSA need further training. Further efforts are made to teach and train diagnostic medical US devices to implement safety standards.