BREAST INFECTIONS: DIAGNOSIS WITH ULTRASOUND AND MAMMOGRAPHY

Abstract

Aim: Evaluation of ultrasonographic and mammographic pattern, etiology and risk factors of breast infections.

Material and methods: Our study included a group of 66 female patients aged 16 to 71 years, examined by ultrasound and mammography in several medical imaging services in Iaşi in the interval 2008-2014; ultrasound was performed in all 66 patients and mammography in 22.

Results: In our study breast infections occurred mostly during breastfeeding and the most frequent causative agent was Staphylococcus aureus; ultrasound established the correct diagnosis in 63 cases and detected one or more of the following aspects in case of breast infections: edema of the fatty tissue, hypoechoic areas in the breast tissue, dilated ducts, or fluid collections. Mammography was not necessary in puerperal mastitis and was performed only in women over 40 years old; in most cases we had encountered a focal asymmetric density which had low specificity for the diagnosis of mastitis or breast abscess.

Conclusions: Our study proved that ultrasound is a valuable method for the diagnosis of mastitis, especially when an abscess is suspected and established a correct diagnosis in most cases; the abscesses appear as inhomogeneous fluid collections, with poorly defined margins, posterior acoustic enhancement, no Doppler signal inside, sometimes associated with enlarged axillary lymph nodes. Mammography was not helpful for the diagnosis.