Abstract
To ascertain the current status of ultrasonography in mammographic (MG) screening at centers equipped for detailed examination and to clarify the related issues, a questionnaire was sent to 181 centers, exclusive of those providing only medical check-ups, recognized by the Central Committee for Quality Control of Mammographic Screening in 7 prefectures of Chubu District. Of the 99 centers that returned the questionnaire (response rate, 54.7%), 82 answered “yes” to the use of breast ultrasound in clinical practice, in which the actual state of breast ultrasonography was analyzed. Examinations were performed by doctors alone at 24 centers, doctors and non-doctors at 40, and non-doctors alone at 18. Examinations by doctors were performed in doctors' offices at 28 centers, in inspection rooms at 26 and both at 10, frequently as outpatient examinations in 51 centers (79.7%). The mean duration of examination was 9.8 min for the first examination of a symptomatic patient, 7.5 min for follow-up, 9.6 min for the first examination of an asymptomatic patient, and 7.6 min for follow-up. For non-doctors, the respective times were 16.7, 14.4, 14.7, and 14.2 min, respectively. Non-doctors performing examinations alone (87.9%) and with insufficient MG information (50.0%) took a longer time. Frequently, the image was read only by doctors (65.5%), employing static images (93.3%). Qualified specialist doctors and technologists accounted for 16.2%, and the rate of participation in training by the Japan Association of Breast and Thyroid Sonology (JABTS) was 24.7%. Basedon the present questionnaire, conditions of breast ultrasonography for mild MG abnormalities still appear to be inadequate.
