Original Research
An analysis of diagnostic practices in a mammography unit in a tertiary hospital in South Africa
Submitted: 07 July 2016 | Published: 30 March 2017
About the author(s)
Clare A. Surridge, Department of Radiology, Grey’s Hospital, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South AfricaMatthew D.M. Goodier, Department of Radiology, Grey’s Hospital, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Abstract
Objectives: To perform an audit of the UGCNB biopsies performed at the Grey’s Hospital Mammography Department and assess the accuracy of the radiologists’ use of the BI-RADS scoring system.
Methods: Records of all patients who underwent UGCNB biopsy between 01 January 2014 and 31 October 2015 were reviewed. A retrospective study was performed.
Results: A total of 304 UGCNB biopsies were performed on 291 patients. The mean age was 49.2 (s.d. = 15.9) years. Tissue samples from 303 lesions were adequate for histological assessment, and of these, 51% of the lesions were malignant whilst 49% were benign. The most common malignant and benign diagnoses were invasive ductal carcinoma and fibroadenoma respectively. The BI-RADS scoring of the radiologists demonstrated a positive predictive value of 61.6% for the identification of possible malignant lesions.
Conclusion: This study describes the patient and lesion profile and unit practices in a tertiary hospital setting in South Africa. The radiologists’ application of the BI-RADS scoring largely conforms to the BI-RADS guidelines. The study highlights several challenges encountered by a breast imaging programme in an under-resourced setting as well as making recommendations in overcoming these challenges.
Keywords
Metrics
Total abstract views: 2900Total article views: 4846