Ethics of ultrasonography

Osama Azmy, Kareem El-Nahhas
In: Ultrasonography in Reproductive Medicine and Infertility · 2010 · pp. 64–66 · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511776854.009 · W2491455370
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This chapter reviews radiologic principles and female anatomy, detailing ultrasound's role in monitoring the uterus and assessing uterine leiomyomas, while noting imaging's limited use for tubal pathology and peritoneal disease in reproductive medicine.

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This chapter examines the ethical principles governing the use of ultrasonography in reproductive medicine, focusing on patient autonomy and informed consent. It emphasizes that physicians must adequately disclose risks to address patient fears regarding potential harmful effects, while also noting that pregnant women are not obligated to undergo fetal treatments that threaten their own lives. The text highlights that ethics serves as a critical subdiscipline with significant clinical implications for ultrasound examinations and interventions. Relevance to endometriosis: listed as one indication for GnRH antagonists, though the paper's main focus is uterine fibroids.

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Abstract

This chapter reviews the basic principles of radiologic tests, and describes the basic female anatomy. It provides information for appropriate imaging modalities for each part of the female genital tract. Currently ultrasound plays a role in monitoring the uterus during ovarian stimulation and early pregnancy. Assessment of uterine leiomyoma is historically achieved with ultrasonography, although computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) also offer detection of uterine fibroids. In reproductive medicine, imaging of the tubes is typically limited to evaluation of patency and distortion of normal anatomy, as in hydrosalpinges and salpingitis isthmica nodosum. Pituitary imaging is mostly performed in reproductive medicine for the infertile patient with persistently elevated prolactin levels or with levels over 100 ng/ml. Imaging is rarely performed in reproductive medicine specifically to evaluate for peritoneal disease. Laparoscopy is considered the gold standard for diagnosis of peritoneal processes such as endometriosis.
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- Ultrasonography in Reproductive Medicine and Infertility - Ultrasonography in Reproductive Medicine and Infertility - Copyright page - Dedication - Contents - Contributors - Foreword - Preface - Acknowledgments - Section 1: Imaging techniques - Chapter 1 The future of imaging and assisted reproduction - Chapter 2 Ultrasonography: - Chapter 3 Hysterosalpingography - Chapter 4 Fertiloscopy - Chapter 5 Sonohysterography - Chapter 6 Diagnostic hysteroscopy - Chapter 7 Ethics of ultrasonography - Section 2: Ultrasonography in infertility - Section 3: Ultrasonography in assisted reproduction - Section 4: Early pregnancy after infertility treatment - Index from Section 1: - Imaging techniques Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 September 2011 Edited by Book contents - Ultrasonography in Reproductive Medicine and Infertility - Ultrasonography in Reproductive Medicine and Infertility - Copyright page - Dedication - Contents - Contributors - Foreword - Preface - Acknowledgments - Section 1: Imaging techniques - Chapter 1 The future of imaging and assisted reproduction - Chapter 2 Ultrasonography: - Chapter 3 Hysterosalpingography - Chapter 4 Fertiloscopy - Chapter 5 Sonohysterography - Chapter 6 Diagnostic hysteroscopy - Chapter 7 Ethics of ultrasonography - Section 2: Ultrasonography in infertility - Section 3: Ultrasonography in assisted reproduction - Section 4: Early pregnancy after infertility treatment - Index The principle of autonomy recognizes that it is the voluntary decision of the patient to authorize or refuse clinical management based on adequate and complete disclosure by the physician about the patient's condition and management with the understanding of this information by the patient. If the patient refuses the ultrasound examination due to the fears of its harmful effects, the physician must clarify the facts to the patient, support her, and illuminate her fears. During obstetric ultrasound scanning and in occasional circumstances where the unborn child may suffer from a condition that needs a treatment and this treatment threatens the mother's life, there must not be any obligation upon her to tolerate this treatment. All fetal treatment necessitates accessing the fetus through the pregnant woman's body, and nonsurgical treatments have long been a part of pregnancy care. Ethics as a subdiscipline of ultrasound examination and intervention has significant clinical implications. - Type - Chapter - Information - Ultrasonography in Reproductive Medicine and Infertility , pp. 64 - 66Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2010 Accessibility compliance for the HTML of this chapter is currently unknown and may be updated in the future. To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle. Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply. Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service. - Ethics of ultrasonography - - Book: Ultrasonography in Reproductive Medicine and Infertility - Online publication: 07 September 2011 To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox. - Ethics of ultrasonography - - Book: Ultrasonography in Reproductive Medicine and Infertility - Online publication: 07 September 2011 To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive. - Ethics of ultrasonography - - Book: Ultrasonography in Reproductive Medicine and Infertility - Online publication: 07 September 2011

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