Survey results: status report on problems caused by sexual mismatch between sonographer and patient during echocardiography-a 2020 report of the Japanese Society of Echocardiography

Objectives: Ultrasonography is an essential examination performed in various clinical fields. The number of clinical sonographers has been increasing. However, the working environments and conditions at each facility are different, leading to diverse problems. Among them, the emerging issue is the sexual disagreement between the sonographer and patient at the time of echocardiography. Since the patient must expose their breast during echocardiography, female patients may refuse to undergo the examination when conducted by a male sonographer. This study aimed to conduct a questionnaire survey to understand the measures for sonographer-patient gender mismatch at different facilities.

Methods: A questionnaire on the implementation of echocardiography by male sonographers for female patients was answered by representatives and specialist technicians of the Japanese Society of Echocardiography.

Results: Questionnaire responses were obtained from 50 facilities (59 participants). A total of 70% of the facilities restricted male sonographers from conducting echocardiography examinations for female patients. Among them, 81% of the facilities serviced female patients aged 60 years or younger.

Conclusions: It has become clear that the gender selection of echocardiographic examiners varies from facility to facility, and providing a sufficient explanation before echocardiographic examination is necessary to avoid causing uncomfortable situations for female patients.