SONOGRAPHY 2ND TRIMESTER ASSESSMENT, PROTOCOLS, AND INTERPRETATION

Course overview

THE MID-TRIMESTER OBSTETRIC ULTRASOUND (ALSO KNOWN AS THE SECOND-TRIMESTER ANATOMY SCAN OR ANOMALY SCAN) IS A ROUTINE EXAMINATION IN MANY COUNTRIES. IT PLAYS A PIVOTAL ROLE IN ENSURING THE WELL-BEING OF BOTH THE PREGNANT PATIENT AND THE DEVELOPING FETUS. A CORNERSTONE OF MODERN PRENATAL CARE, THIS NON-INVASIVE IMAGING TECHNIQUE, TYPICALLY PERFORMED BETWEEN WEEKS 18 AND 22 OF GESTATION, IS AIMED PRIMARILY AT ASSESSING FETAL ANATOMY AND DETECTING ANY FETAL ANOMALIES. A 2-DIMENSIONAL GRAYSCALE ULTRASOUND WITH A CURVILINEAR TRANSABDOMINAL PROBE IS ROUTINELY USED TO EVALUATE THE FETAL NUMBER, VIABILITY, GESTATIONAL AGE, ANATOMICAL SURVEY, PLACENTAL LOCATION, AMNIOTIC FLUID, AND MATERNAL PELVIC ORGANS. A TRANSVAGINAL PROBE, COLOR DOPPLER, AND 3-DIMENSIONAL ULTRASOUND ARE NOT ROUTINELY USED. STILL, THEY MAY BE IMPLEMENTED IN CERTAIN CLINICAL SCENARIOS, ESPECIALLY WHEN PLACENTA PREVIA OR A FETAL ANOMALY IS SUSPECTED, OR TO PROVIDE ACCURATE CERVICAL LENGTH MEASUREMENT. THIS ACTIVITY OUTLINES THE INDICATION, SAFETY, AND TECHNIQUE OF SECOND-TRIMESTER ULTRASOUND AND HIGHLIGHTS THE ROLE OF THE INTERPROFESSIONAL TEAM IN CONDUCTING AND INTERPRETING THE STUDY TO IMPROVE THE ANTENATAL CARE PROVIDED.