title: Adequacy and quality of abdominal echographies requested by primary care professionals.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The value of abdominal echography in primary care is great because it is innocuous, inexpensive, easy to perform and provides a great deal of information making this the first examination to be requested in cases of probable abdominal disease. However, too many abdominal echographies are probably requested overcrowding the Departments of Radiodiagnosis with not always justified petitions or with repetition of tests based on little clinical criteria.
  
  
  METHODS
  The aim of the study is to evaluate the adequacy and quality of abdominal echographies requested by primary care physicians in the Maresme County (North of Barcelona), develop guidelines for indicating echographies and reevaluate this adequacy after implementing these guidelines.We will perform a two-phase study: the first descriptive, and retrospective evaluating the adequacy and quality of petitions for abdominal echographies, and in the second phase we will evaluate the impact of recommendations for indicating abdominal echographies for PC physicians on the adequacy and quality of echography petitions thereafter.This study will be carried out in 10 primary care centres in the Maresme (Barcelona).1067 abdominal echographies requested by primary care physicians from the above mentioned centres from January 2007 to April 2010 and referred to the Department of Radiology and the same number of applications after the intervention.All the petitions for abdominal echographies requested will be analysed and the clinical histories will be obtained to determine demographic variables, the reason for the visit and for the echography petition and diagnostic orientation, clinical and echographic data, evaluation of the echographies according to the quality and variables characterising the professionals requesting the echographies including: age, sex, laboral situation, length of time in work post, formation, etc.To achieve a consensus of the adequacy of abdominal echography, a work group including gastroenterologists, radiologists and general practitioners will be created following the nominal group. This will allow the design of guidelines for the indication of abdominal echography and posterior evaluation of their impact among physicians by diffusion and posterior reevaluation of the adequacy of the petitions.
authors.affiliation: Primary Healthcare Centre Premià de Mar, Catalan Health Institute, IDIAP Jordi Gol, La Plaça 93, 08330 Premià de Mar, Spain.
authors.forename: Ma Antònia
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Auladell
authors.forename: Llorenç
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Caballeria
authors.forename: Guillem
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pera
authors.forename: Lluís
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rodríguez
authors.forename: José Dario
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Casas
authors.forename: Jesús
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Aznar
authors.forename: Dolores
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Miranda
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sánchez
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Negrete
authors.forename: Josep Ma
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Castellví
authors.forename: Jesús
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bernad
authors.forename: Santiago
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Canut
authors.forename: Josep
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Aubà
authors.forename: Miren Maite
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Aizpurua
authors.forename: Pere
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Torán
mesh_terms: D000005:Abdomen / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D015746:Abdominal Pain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D032921:Consensus; D006801:Humans; D058007:Physicians, Primary Care; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000592:standards; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000592:standards*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014463:Ultrasonography
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