Non-DVM Abdominal Ultrasound Certification Program Case Report Guidelines

1. Candidate’s name
2. Patient’s name
3. Case category (Normal, Basic Abdomen #1, etc.; Advanced abdomen #1, etc.)
4. Date of original submission

 Cases to be submitted (8 total):
 There should be at least two feline and two canine cases.

ABDOMINAL ULTRASOUND CASE REPORT EXAMPLE

• Choose cases with pathology in any of the following organs: liver, gallbladder, spleen, kidneys or ureters, or urinary bladder. Do not submit more than one case of any organ.
• Organs with pathology should be represented more thoroughly.
• Choose cases that will have objective proof of your findings: surgical confirmation, histopathology, cytology, or necropsy.

• Choose cases with pathology in any of the following organs: adrenal glands, reproductive organs, common bile duct, pancreas, gastrointestinal tract, abdominal vasculature, abdominal lymph nodes.
• Choose cases that will have objective proof of your findings: surgical confirmation, histopathology, cytology, or necropsy. For the rare case in which confirmation was not possible, the differentials for the pathology imaged should be minimal such as an invasive adrenal tumor.  
• Demonstration of your knowledge and use of power and color Doppler, complex documentations such as portal hypertension, biopsy needle placement, shunt examinations will be highly regarded. 

1. A patient history section with any lab work and radiographs. Abnormal clinical signs should be described.
2. All images (or video clips--three 3-second video clips maximum) of your exam with captions that describe the specific plane of view, and the organ imaged. The order of images or video clips in the report should demonstrate how you perform an exam. Date of exam, name of patient, and facility must be on all images.  
3. A sonographic findings section: List all abnormal sonographic findings. This will be the most important section of the report to list all the abnormal findings.

Evaluation of a case report is based on these criteria.  If not followed, the case report will not be accepted.  After rejection of 10 cases, the participant will be discontinued from the program with no financial reimbursement.  Discontinued participants will need to complete all coursework again prior to re-enrollment.

• At least for the first 3 cases, the candidate should wait to submit another case until the previous case receives final approval. This allows the candidate to incorporate what they have learned into future case reports.
• Cases should be written based largely on published data and minimally based on personal bias or experience.
• Case report revisions are common, especially for the first few cases.
• Case reports are to be submitted in Word format only. This can be accomplished by exporting images from your ultrasound machine in jpg or jpeg format. Contact your vendor if you have problems figuring this out. 

Case Final Submission and Acceptance:
An IVUSS certificate holder will review the case and provide suggestions for any revisions. Once revised, if needed, the case will be reviewed for either acceptance or rejection. A total of three of the eight cases (Cases 1, 4, and 8) will be sent to a radiologist for review, suggestions for revisions and either acceptance or rejection.