Obstetric ultrasound requests: An audit at a Nigerian tertiary hospital

Background/Aim: Radiology request forms(RRFs) are the essential communication tools between clinicians and radiologists. They should be filled out completely and legibly to prevent misunderstanding of the requested investigation. This study aims to audit the adequacy of filling of RRFs for obstetric ultrasound at University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital Enugu. Materials and Methods: One thousand one hundred and sixty obstetric ultrasound request forms sent to the radiology department of a tertiary institution from January 2019 to December 2023 were evaluated. There were 16 fields: Date of request, name, age, patient’s contact, clinical diagnosis, clinical details, parity, LMP, EDD, gestational age (GA), information required, previous exam, doctor’s signature, consultant’s name/firm, patient mobility, and legibility of writing. The adequacy and completeness of filling of these individual fields were assessed. Descriptive data analysis was carried out. Results: Age ranged from 17 to 52 years (mean 31.9 years). The most filled field was the patient’s name 100%, and date of request, 99%. In contrast, 28.7% of patient’s age, 80% of contacts, 7.8% of clinical diagnosis, 60.1% of clinical details, 30.3% of parity, 26.3% of LMP, 37.8% of EDD, 35.3% of GA, 2.6% of information required, 96.6% of previous examination field, 21.6% of doctor’s signature, 20.3% of consultant’s name/firm, 97% of mobility of patient were unfilled. 8.2% had illegible writing. A total of 34.5% of fields were unfilled. Conclusion: Radiologists are often not provided with adequate information to make a diagnosis. This study creates the awareness of the importance of properly filling request forms, which will help improve the quality of radiology reports and patient care.