[Current state of research in abdominal ultrasonography at German university hospitals. A panel study over 20 years]. / Die Forschungssituation der Abdomensonografie an den deutschen Universitätskliniken. Eine Längsschnittstudie über 20 Jahre.

BACKGROUND: The state of research in the field of abdominal ultrasonography has been deficient for years at German university hospitals. Neither research activity nor funding are appropriate given the actual clinical importance of this method. OBJECTIVE: In analogy to studies conducted in 1999 and 2009, this study aims to provide a survey into the state of research in the field of abdominal ultrasonography at German university hospitals. It focuses on the topics of research activity, research funding, publication rate and the development of structural conditions. METHODS: Chief gastroenterologists from Germany's 34 university hospitals were invited to respond to a postal survey asking about the aforementioned topics. We asked them to forward the survey in case somebody else was responsible for the respective tasks. The response rate was 79 %. RESULTS: The amount of hospitals doing research has roughly remained the same with 77 % compared to 74 % in 2009 and 80 % in 1999. On average, however, there are less research projects per department with 3.2 at the moment compared to 3.5 in 1999 and 3.6 in 2009, and research funding has continued to worsen. 75 % of the heads of departments state that they have not received any funding in addition to the usual budget. Funding by producers of ultrasound machines has also reached a low with 11 % compared to 45 % in 2009 and 31 % in 1999. Only public and university funding show a positive trend. The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation) is currently not funding any research projects in the field of abdominal ultrasonography. 13 university hospitals provided information about their publication rate in 1999, 2009 and 2019. Whereas the rate had generally remained constant in the previous studies, the annual number of publications has continually increased in the current survey period. 75 % of the publications came from university hospitals that have established or are currently planning to establish interdisciplinary ultrasound centers. The previous studies also showed that more and more hospitals publish in English instead of German. This trend continues. During the survey period, 60 % of publications were both in English and German, 37 % in English and only 3 % exclusively in German. Most publications dealt with clinical and only a few technical or basic research questions. This was also the case in the previous studies. There have been less publications on the use of ultrasound contrast agents in the present survey period. There is also a decline in the number of systematic reviews. Similar to 2009, the impact factor of journals devoted to sonography is increasing and it is growing stronger than that of journals dedicated to radiology. However, only 29 % of the heads of departments agreed that ultrasonography was a field of research that improves your career prospects. CONCLUSIONS: The present study did not show a significant improvement of research activity in the field of abdominal ultrasonography. However, an increased publication rate indicates a trend towards high-performing research centers. Research funding remains deficient and has worsened in the past 20 years. The demands made by the previous studies for research funding appropriate to the importance of this clinical method remain.

[Current state of under- and postgraduate education in abdominal ultrasonography at German university hospitals. A panel study over 20 years]. / Die Aus- und Weiterbildungssituation der Abdomensonografie an den deutschen Universitätskliniken. Eine Längsschnittstudie über 20 Jahre.

OBJECTIVE: In Germany, there is no standardized ultrasound training. This study aims to provide a survey into the current state of abdominal ultrasonography training at German university hospitals as well as a comparative analysis of the results from studies conducted in 1999 and 2009. METHODS: Chief gastroenterologists from Germany's 34 university hospitals were invited to respond to a postal survey asking about technical equipment, the number of ultrasound scans, the role of professional societies and undergraduate as well as postgraduate training. The response rate was 79 %. In addition, 1183 medical students from 34 faculties completed a complementary online teaching evaluation. RESULTS: At university hospitals, abdominal ultrasonography is conducted in an increasingly interdisciplinary context. Today, 29 % of university hospitals have interdisciplinary ultrasound centers. The study shows that the number of available ultrasound machines has increased - each hospital has an average of 5.2 systems. This is an increase of 30 % in comparison to 2009 and of 27 % in comparison to 1999. However, the willingness to invest in modern ultrasound machines has decreased. The total number of ultrasound scans as well as the number of contrast-enhanced ultrasound scans have steadily increased over the past years - with a maximum increase of 28 % between 2009 and 2018. The German Society of Ultrasound in Medicine (DEGUM) is increasingly present at university hospitals. It has further strengthened its prominent role in quality assurance and specialist training. Today, 96 % of the chief gastroenterologists are members of DEGUM and 89 % have obtained further qualification offered by the society. Concerning the duration of the training, the number of mandatory examinations and the amount of supervision, there are still considerable differences among the departments. On average, more doctors are trained per department and year. A 6-month full-time training has been established at most hospitals. Sonography enjoys a high standing among students and the findings show a strong readiness for work in that field. The number of practical courses and students has been increasing over the past years. However, there is often an imbalance between the number of courses offered and students who want to enroll. CONCLUSIONS: Training conditions have improved for medical staff as well as students despite the fact that there are still considerable differences in quality among the hospitals. The number of ultrasound scans is steadily increasing in all departments. The study did not show any adequate improvement in the availability of technical equipment. The German Society of Ultrasound in Medicine (DEGUM) has further strengthened its leading position in the field of sonography.