ISUOG Practice Guidelines: performance of first‐trimester fetal ultrasound scan

performance of first-trimester fetal ultrasound scan Clinical Standards CommitteeThe International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology (ISUOG) is a scientific organization that encourages safe clinical practice and high-quality teaching and research related to diagnostic imaging in women’s healthcare.The ISUOG Clinical Standards Committee (CSC) has a remit to develop Practice Guidelines and Consensus Statements that provide healthcare practitioners with a consensus-based approach for diagnostic imaging.They are intended to reflect what is considered by ISUOG to be the best practice at the time at which they are issued.Although ISUOG has made every effort to ensure that Guidelines are accurate when issued, neither the Society nor any of its employees or members accept any liability for the consequences of any inaccurate or misleading data, opinions or statements issued by the CSC.The ISUOG CSC documents are not intended to establish a legal standard of care because interpretation of the evidence that underpins the Guidelines may be influenced by individual circumstances, local protocol and available resources.Approved Guidelines can be distributed freely with the permission of ISUOG (info@isuog.org). When should a first-trimester fetal ultrasound scan be performed?There is no reason to offer routine ultrasound simply to confirm an ongoing early pregnancy in the absence of any clinical concerns, pathological symptoms or specific indications.It is advisable to offer the first ultrasound scan when gestational age is thought to be between 11 and 13 + 6 weeks’ gestation, as this provides an opportunity to achieve the aims outlined above, i.e. confirm viability, establish gestational age accurately, determine the number of viable fetuses and, if requested, evaluate fetal gross anatomy and risk of aneuploidy 4 -20 .Before starting the examination, a healthcare provider should counsel the woman/couple regarding the potential benefits and limitations of the first-trimester ultrasound scan. (GOOD PRACTICE POINT)