Abstract

BELAY, F; HORN, A  and  PILLAY, S. Quality of neonatal cranial ultrasound interpretation among paediatric and neonatal trainees in the West Metro of Cape Town: A clinical survey. S. Afr. j. child health [online]. 2025, vol.19, n.1, pp.2-7. ISSN 1999-7671.  https://doi.org/10.7196/SAJCH.2025.v19i2.2626.

BACKGROUND: Cranial ultrasound (cUS) is a recommended skill for paediatric and neonatal trainees in South Africa, but there are no national or regional guidelines for training OBJECTIVES: To survey cUS training and knowledge among paediatric and neonatal trainees working in tertiary and regional neonatal units in the West Metro area of Cape Town METHODS: Trainees who had worked at least 1 month in neonatology on the University of Cape Town training platform were sent an online survey RESULTS: Thirty-one paediatric registrars and five neonatal senior registrars were sent the survey. Responses were received from 26 of the 36 trainees (72%). None had attended a formal cUS course, 18 (69%) had attended a lecture from a neonatologist, and 8 (30%) had attended a formal consultant tutorial. Ten (38%) trainees received initial training from registrars, medical officers, or self-study. Most trainees stated the cUS report should describe anatomy (92%), haemorrhage (81%) and ventricular size (65%). Knowledge of other reporting and procedural aspects varied from 4% to 50%. Correct identification of the major features of images ranged from 12% to 92% but was below 40% in most questions. Trainees with >24 months experience were more likely to correctly identify a normal scan (58% v. 14%; p=0.038) and less likely to assign abnormal prognosis (0% v. 43%; p=0.017 CONCLUSIONS: There was inadequate and variable cUS training and competency in paediatric and neonatal trainees in our institution. A national standardised programme for training and accreditation of clinician-performed neonatal cUS will address this

Keywords : Neonate; newborn; diagnostic imaging; ultrasonography; cranial.

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