There is an increasing demand for sonographer credentials and facility accreditation associated with federal reimbursement of sonography examinations. Therefore, a national survey was conducted to identify the education/ certification status of sonographers currently performing studies that receive federal reimbursement. The survey, addressed to sonography administrators, also investigated the sonography laboratory accreditation status. Results indicated that approximately 12% of the sonographers were reported to have no sonography-specific credentials. The primary age range of this group was 25 to 34 years, and 64% were graduates of a two-year (minimum) allied health education program other than sonography. Forty-two percent indicated their sonography lab was not accredited. Should the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) require facility accreditation, there may be a significant impact on sonographer requirements as a condition of employment.

Inferior vena cava thrombosis is a potentially life-threatening condition in which a clot or thrombus forms in the major vessel that returns blood to the heart and lungs. The primary concern is that of potentially life-threatening pulmonary emboli, or clots traveling to the lung. Risk factors vary greatly, but all fall into the general categories of hypercoagulable state, venous injury, and venous stasis. Signs and symptoms vary with the extent of thrombus, and more than half of all patients remain asymptomatic until pulmonary embolism occurs. Although treatment for cases of localized inferior vena cava thrombosis is fairly straightforward with an excellent prognosis, the variability in and sometimes lack of signs, symptoms, and risk factors render isolated cases of inferior vena cava thrombosis difficult to detect prior to complications from pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis.