Background Ultrasound has been in clinical use to image the human body for over half a century. An audit should be performed on professional practice aimed at taking corrective measures where errors are identified and improvement in the practice when errors are not detected. This study is aimed at evaluating the current status of ultrasound practice in Kano metropolis, Nigeria. Results Out of the 70 (100%) administered questionnaires, 68 (97.14%) were returned, and 64 (91.43%) were properly filled. Fifty-eight (90.6%) knew the exact meaning of ultrasound, and 34 (53%) considered ultrasound as a modality of choice for imaging and diagnosis of abdominal masses. None of the participants was exposed to advanced ultrasound technology. Only 3 (4.7%) and 5 (7.8%) of the respondents performed infection control, air reverberation pattern and electronic noise checks. Conclusion Ultrasound practitioners demonstrate good knowledge of ultrasound and its application. However, there was unavailability of advanced ultrasound equipment. There was also poor understanding and practice of quality assurance among practitioners. Ultrasound equipment might have been grossly underutilized and qualities of images produced by the equipment are not certain were optimal.

The ability to ascertain the human liver by a sonographer allows for the diagnosis of various liver pathologies, establishing normal liver size aids in determining the treatment method for the underlying liver pathology. The study was aimed at evaluating normal liver size among apparently healthy adult subjects and to establish a reference value in Kano Metropolis. The study design was prospective and cross-sectional conducted in Kano Metropolis from June 2019 to September 2019. Using simple random sampling, a total of 384 subjects were recruited in the study. An EDAN ultrasound machine with a 3.5MHz curvilinear probe was used as the instrument for data collection. Age, height, weight, BMI and BSA were recorded on a data capture sheet. Data was analyzed by SPSS version 23.0. The mean (±SD) for cranio-caudal dimension of the right lobe was found to be 14.99±0.74cm in males and 14.38±0.72cm in females, mean left lobe 5.76±0.85cm in males and 5.39±0.81cm in females. The mean AP diameter of the right lobe was 13.02±1.12cm in males and 12.34±0.95cm in females. Liver dimension in males was greater than that of females (p˂0.001). Age and weight show significant moderate correlations with liver dimensions. (r=0.52, p˂0.001 and r=0.44, p˂0.001) in both males and females respectively. In Kano Metropolitan population, liver size was greater in males than females. It correlates significantly with age and weight in both males and females.

No abstract