Breast pathology - Early diagnosis by Ultrasound
Rute Santos, Daniela Marques, Ana Raquel Ribeiro, Medical Imaging and Radiotherapy Department Coimbra Health School, Polytechnic Institute of Coimbra, Portugal
Background:
Ultrasound is a non-invasive, low-cost technique, does not use ionizing radiation and it is a "real-time" image, and for these reasons this method is first-rate in several situations.
Purpose:
To demonstrate breast ultrasound evaluation as a first-line diagnostic method and to evaluate the variation of the breast characteristics along the age.
Methods:
105 women with a mean age of 30 years participated, divided into three age groups: 18-39, 40-59 and 60-79 years, excluding participants subject to mastectomy.
After completing the informed consent, all participants answered personal and sociodemographic questions, such as personal and family history, menstrual cycle, pregnancy, ultrasound and mammography, among others. They were then submitted to a bilateral breast ultrasound examination. Subsequently all the images and their data were analyzed and a technical report of the examination was given to all the participants.
Results:
A total of 105 women with a mean age of 30 years participated, 58 of whom underwent the examination for the first time. In 31, changes (of which only 7 were known) were diagnosed. It was verified that, according to the age group, the breast stromal density varied, being that in the women with greater age this presented lower density.
Conclusions:
Ultrasound is a good method for breast evaluation and can be considered important for the early evaluation of breast pathology and follow-up of the pathology.