An audit of the first three years of mammography and sonomammography services at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital

Abstract

Aims and Objectives: The purpose of this study is to present an experiential audit of initial data accumulated in 3 years since inception in 2007 of mammographic and sono-mammographic work at the Radiology Department of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu. Materials and Methods: In the three years under review 443 patient records were examined. Results: Majority of the women were in the mid-forties.Breast pain was the leading complaint (54.8%). This was followed by complaint of breast mass (34.5%). The predominant breast pattern encountered is the fibro-glandular type. Reduction in cost of imaging when combined with awareness campaign appeared encourage health-seeking behaviour. Beyond basic imaging, cases of suspicious nipple discharge unfortunately underwent no further radiologic work up like ductulography to establish definitive diagnosis. Conclusions: This paper concludes that the culture of breast imaging for diagnostic and screening purposes is evolving in South-East Nigeria where the breast imaging unit of the institution has played a pioneering role. Sensitization advocacy to the general public about breast diseases and the local availability of breast imaging services, followed by reduction of cost of access to such services impacts positively on service utilization. There is need to encourage earlier screening as most patients screened are close to the peak incidence of breast carcinoma in this environment.

Keywords

• mammography
• sono-mammography
• breast screening