Filly's 5th Law
When the clinician orders a sonogram, they get a sonogram, not a CT or MRI.
This should actually be the First Law. I have noted over the years that radiologists interpreting CT scans, MRIs, and sonograms frequently equate what should be seen, reported, and discovered in these examinations. I am the first to admit that sonograms are not as good as CT scans or MRIs. What I am trying to convey is that sonography has weaknesses, but also has formidable strengths. Your report should not constantly apologize for the weaknesses of sonography (e.g., in cases of hematuria sonography will not find as many small renal cell carcinomas or small renal calculi as will CT). That does not alter the fact that sonography is very valuable in cases of hematuria. Report what you see and don’t apologize that it was a sonogram and not a CT. And especially don’t always end your report with a recommendation to get a CT scan or MRI.
If clinicians didn’t believe that sonograms were of great value, then sonograms would not be the most commonly requested examination among the cross-sectional imaging modalities.
