ULTRASOUND ABDOMEN - WHAT A PATIENT WANTS TO KNOW 1. When to go for ultrasound abdomen - Usually and commonly your physician or surgeon refers you to undergo a ultrasound scan of your abdomen due to various presenting signs and symptoms related to abdomen like pain abdomen, unknown fever, jaundice, urinary problems, vomiting, diarrhoea, menstrual problems etc. Sometimes, ultrasound abdomen is routinely done as part of annual health check ups, routine health packages, pre employment check up and routine follow up scans Now a days, increasingly people consulting directly for abdominal ultrasound whenever He/She feels any unusual issue in abdomen like pain or issue related to bladder and bowel habits or general menstrual problems Structures routinely visualized on ultrasound abdomen are liver, gall bladder, spleen, kidneys, pancreas, urinary bladder, prostate, uterus and ovaries, also sometimes appendix, abnormal bowel loops and enlarged lymph nodes also seen At focus diagnostic & imaging solutions, you will meet expert Dr. Praveen Singhal, Masters in Radio-diagnosis 2. How’s ultrasound done and is it is safe?? Ultrasound involves transmission of sound wave energy without any ionizing radiations hence is completely safe, can be repeated infinite number of times without any side effect. It is also reasonable accurate and completely painless procedure. Ultrasound is done with the help of a probe or transducer which glides over your abdomen after applying gel like material on the skin which act as medium to transmit the sound waves emerging from the transducer into the abdominal cavity. Abdominal organs then reflect these sound waves differently and is picked by transducer again. This information is then fed into computer and resultant real time images appears on the monitor which is then analyzed and interpreted by doctor to arrive at your ultrasound report. 3. PRE - , INTRA - & POST – ULTRASOUND QUERIES?? a) PRE - Ideal condition before going for an elective ultrasound examination is overnight fasting state although can take water and medications, however it can be done any time when emergency, routinely a fasting state of 4 hrs is enough One another important pre-requisition for abdominal ultrasound is good sense of urinary bladder fullness that can be achieved by drinking good quantity of water 1-2 hr before scan and holding urine for at least 1hr. b) INTRA – you just have to lie down supine and straight with adequate exposure of your abdominal region, sometimes you may be asked to wear the clinic gown. A water based ultrasound gel is applied to your abdomen skin and then ultrasound probe is used to glide over the abdomen to see the internal structures. sometimes you will examined second time after passing the urine if your referring doctor asked for post void residual urine (PVR) status. During scan, you may be asked for various maneuvers to do like – turning to your right or left, holding breath or to do bear down pressure so as make your tummy out and prominent. c) POST – There are no post ultrasound DO’S or DONT’s. Just collect your report and discuss with your doctor for further management and plan of action. 4. Conclusion - An abdominal ultrasound is painless, safe, repetitive low cost investigation which provides reasonable accurate and fast results. It can be done on a routine basis or when referred by a doctor.
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