Does it matter who does ultrasound examination of the gall bladder?

Abstract

The high level of accuracy achieved by some ultrasonographers in the diagnosis of gall stones1 2 has resulted in a general acceptance of ultrasound as the primary investigation for gall stones.3 These excellent results, however, were obtained by strongly motivated and highly experienced ultrasonographers conducting clinical trials.4 The knowledge that the result of an ultrasound examination will be included in a prospective study may improve performance. We have sought to establish whether the same level of accuracy can be achieved when ultrasound is performed outside the confines of a prospective trial by ultrasonographers with varying degrees of experience. The purposes of this study were, firstly, to assess the performance of gall bladder ultrasound in a busy radiology department where gall bladder ultrasound is routinely performed by different radiologists and, secondly, to see whether there was “operator variability” between the ultrasonographers performing the scans. The results were examined retrospectively and represent a record of what occurred in our department without the possible bias which would be introduced by a prospective study. © 1985, British Medical Journal Publishing Group. All rights reserved.