title: [What do ultrasound performers in Israel know regarding safety of ultrasound, in comparison to the end users in the United States?].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The goal was to examine the knowledge of ultrasound end users regarding safety of ultrasound in pregnancy, and to compare it to ultrasound end users in the United States.
  
  
  METHODS
  A questionnaire was distributed to ultrasound users at obstetrics and gynecology conventions and wards throughout the country, between the years 2008-2010, and compared to an identical questionnaire distributed in the United States.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 143 end users completed the questionnaire; 92% of them are physicians, 71% gynecologists; 3.5% routinely perform Doppler ultrasound in the first trimester. Overall, 36% of the ultrasound end users thought that the number of ultrasounds performed in low-risk pregnancy should be limited. Although 44.1% were familiar with the term thermal index, only 22.4% answered the related question correctly; 26.6% were familiar with the term mechanical index, but only 4.9% described it correctly. More than 80% of the end users did not know where to find the acoustic indices while performing the examination. No significant difference in knowledge was found between the ultrasound end users in Israel and the United States.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The poor level of knowledge regarding safety issues, found both in Israel and United States, raises the necessity to reexamine the methods of informing the relevant audience on the courses and training programs available on these matters.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Genecology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Soroka University Medical Center, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. sharon.nataly@gmail.com
authors.forename: Nataly
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sharon
authors.forename: Ilana
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Shoham-Vardi
authors.forename: Barak
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Aricha-Tamir
authors.forename: Jacques Sylvian
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Abramowicz
authors.forename: Eyal
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sheiner
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011247:Pregnancy; D011261:Pregnancy Trimester, First; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D018608:Ultrasonography, Doppler / Q000009:adverse effects*; D016216:Ultrasonography, Prenatal / Q000009:adverse effects*; D014481:United States