On the Safety of Diagnostic Ultrasound in Pregnancy: Have we Handled the Available Data Correctly?

Robust evidence of the bioeffects of ultrasound is available from animal studies but human studies are less convincing. Nevertheless; it is disturbing that the only response to safety issues is a twenty-year old principle known as ALARA (As Low As Reasonably Applicable). Using experience from obstetrics and toxicology; and drawing information mainly from two recent systematic reviews and meta-analysis that extensively covered the subject of ultrasound safety; this review captures the current knowledge of ultrasound bioeffects and suggests that it may be time for an international; multidisciplinary meeting on ultrasound safety to decide how to provide the evidence (available data) to patients and sonographers in a succinct manner