Intestinal ultrasound in the UK: current practice and future direction

Objective To obtain an overview of intestinal ultrasound (IUS) usage throughout the UK including indications, training and implementation, geographical availability and barriers to use. Additionally, to begin to establish cohorts of potential future trainers and interested learners. Design A cross-sectional, observational study was designed using an online survey and disseminated nationally via multiple organisations over a 3-month period. Questions were designed to identify those who use IUS, enquiring about their experience, training and daily practices, as well as training interests of those who do not use IUS. Results A total of 202 individuals responded from 89 National Health Service Trusts including radiologists, gastroenterologists, sonographers, nurse practitioners and radiographers. Of these, 114 use IUS regularly and 88 do not. Nearly 70% of IUS users are in London or the South of England. Radiologists are the most frequent users, but gastroenterologists and nurse practitioners are using IUS at point of care, primarily for inflammatory bowel disease. A feeling that cross-sectional imaging is superior was the primary reason for not using IUS. However, 77% of respondents who do not use IUS wished to learn and 32 regular IUS users expressed an interest in teaching. Conclusion IUS is currently underused, with a stark geographical disparity across the UK. There is a need to increase practitioner use to facilitate better patient care and allow for further effective training. A diverse cohort of users wish to learn which will pose challenges in tailoring learning methods to achieve required competency.