Current Opinion on Safety of Diagnostic Ultrasound in Pregnancy.

ABSTRACT Ultrasonic visualisation procedures provide the clinician with additional diagnostic information to allow a high level of patient care, which is particularly valuable in pregnancy management. The benefit will invariably exceed any risk from the examination in symptomatic patients. The safety of diagnostic ultrasound in pregnancy is assumed from negative findings in epidemiological studies, and on the absence of any report of adverse effects in children following in utero in-sonation. Reports of subtle biological responses to ultrasound relate to in vitro insonation of cells under specially selected conditions. Neither the importance of cellular bioeffects nor their possible extrapolation to the human in vivo situation is clearly understood. Overseas Government bodies and Ultrasound Societies, and the Australian Society for Ultrasound in Medicine agree that there is no independently verified evidence of harmful effects of diagnostic ultrasound, and advocate its use wherever a medical reason exists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]