Clinical Standards Committee

The International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and  Gynecology  (ISUOG)  is  a  scientific  organization that encourages sound clinical practice, and highquality teaching  and  research  related   to   diagnostic   imaging in women’s healthcare. The ISUOG Clinical Standards Committee (CSC) has a remit to develop Practice Guidelines and Consensus Statements as educational recommendations that provide healthcare practitioners with a consensus-based approach, from experts, for diagnostic imaging. They  are  intended  to  reflect  what is considered by ISUOG to be the best practice at the time at which they are issued. Although ISUOG has made every effort to ensure that Guidelines are accurate when issued, neither the Society nor any of its employees or members accepts liability for the consequences of any inaccurate or misleading data, opinions or statements issued by the CSC. The ISUOG CSC documents are not intended to establish a legal standard of care, because interpretation of the evidence that underpins the Guidelines may be influenced by individual circumstances, local protocol and available resources. Approved Guidelines can be distributed freely with the permission of ISUOG (info@isuog.org).

Ultrasonography is used widely for the prenatal evaluation of fetal growth and anatomy, as well as for the management of multiple gestations. The midtrimester ultrasound scan is performed mainly for anatomical  evaluation  of the fetus. In experts’ hands, most clinically important structural anomalies can be detected. However,  there are significant differences in detection rates between centers and between operators. The mid-trimester fetal ultrasound scan also serves as a baseline against which later scans can be compared for the evaluation of fetal growth.
Although many countries have developed local guidelines for the practice of fetal ultrasonography, there are still many areas of the world where they have not been implemented. Most countries offer one mid-trimester scan as part of routine prenatal care. This document, which constitutes  an  updated  version  of  previously  published guidelines, suggests the standards that this scan should aim to achieve. Details of the grades of recommendation and levels of evidence used in ISUOG Guidelines are given in  Appendix.