Comparison of needle aspiration and vacuum-assisted biopsy in the ultrasound-guided drainage of lactational breast abscesses

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare needle aspiration and vacuum-assistedbiopsy in the ultrasound-guided treatment of lactational breast abscesses.

Methods: Between January 2005 and December 2014, a total of 74 patients presented withlactational breast abscesses. Thirty of these patients underwent treatment with antibioticsalone, while the remaining 44 lactating women with breast abscesses were treated withneedle aspiration (n=25) or vacuum-assisted biopsy (n=19). Age, duration of lactation, abscess diameter, pus culture results, the number of interventions, the healing time, and the cure rate were reviewed and compared between these two groups. The Student's t test and the chi-square test were used to compare the variables.

Results: No significant difference was found in the cure rate between the needle aspirationgroup (22/25, 88%) and the vacuum-assisted biopsy group (18/19, 94.7%) (P=0.441). However, the mean healing time was significantly shorter in the vacuum-assisted biopsy group (6.7 days) than in the needle aspiration group (9.0 days) (P=0.001).

Conclusion: Vacuum-assisted biopsy is a viable option for the management of lactational breast abscesses and was found to lead to a shorter healing time than needle aspiration. However, further study is necessary to establish the clinical efficacy of vacuum-assisted biopsy in the management of lactational breast abscesses.

Keywords: Abscess; Aspiration, vacuum-assisted; Biopsy, needle; Breast; Image-guided biopsy; Ultrasonography.

Fig. 1.. A 36-year-old woman with puerperal abscess 12 weeks after delivery.

Breast sonogram shows 5×3 cm slightly lobulated, hypoechoic collections with posterior enhancement within the right lower outer quadrant and inserted needle for aspiration.

Fig. 2.. A 28-year-old woman with puerperal abscess 8 weeks after delivery.

Breast sonogram shows 6×4 cm hypoechoic collection within the left lower outer quadrant and inserted vacuum-assisted biopsy needle.