CAR Practice Guidelines on Breast Imaging and Interventions: Breast Ultrasound

This guideline presents Part III of the Canadian Association of Radiologists (CAR) Practice Guidelines on Breast Imaging and Intervention and focuses on breast ultrasound. Recommendations address the diagnostic, supplemental screening, and interventional roles of ultrasound in contemporary breast imaging practice. Topics include clinical indications, equipment and technical performance, axillary assessment, documentation, structured reporting using BI-RADS^®, quality assurance, and personnel qualifications, with attention to both handheld and automated whole-breast ultrasound techniques. This guideline emphasizes the importance of multimodality correlation, timely diagnostic assessment, and appropriate integration of ultrasound into the overall breast imaging pathway. It is intended to be used in conjunction with the other components of the CAR Breast Practice Guidelines series and complements the CAR Breast Disease Imaging Referral Guidelines. While outlining consensus-based best practices and minimum standards, this guideline acknowledges that local expertise, patient characteristics, and resource availability may influence implementation, with final responsibility for interpretation and management decisions resting with the radiologist.