ABSTRACT
This study aimed to evaluate the clinical image quality of mammograms performed in users of the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS) referred to a tertiary hospital. Methods: A prospective study assessed mammograms from women referred to a specialist breast center in Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil, between May and October 2017. Scans performed in the preceding 6 months, either screening or diagnostic, were included in the study. Clinical quality was determined from 40 variables related to patient identification, technical performance, the equipment, radiological findings, reporting of results, and breast positioning. Scans performed in the public and private healthcare networks were compared regarding mammographic positioning. Results: Overall, 4,560 variables associated with the clinical quality of the images were evaluated in scans from 114 women with a mean age of 50.6 years. A total of 660 (14.47%) inadequacies were found, 443 (67.12%) of which were related to breast positioning. The most common errors were as follows: pectoral muscle could not be seen in 86.8% of scans in the craniocaudal view and inframammary angle could not be seen in 79.8% of scans in the mediolateral oblique view. Considering the breast-positioning criteria evaluated in the mediolateral oblique view, there was a greater risk of the breast not being centrally positioned with the nipple in profile (RR 4.66; 95%CI 1.05−20.62; p=0.02) and of nonvisualization of the retro-areolar area (RR 4.14; 95%CI 0.92−18.66; p=0.04) in the exams performed in the private compared to the public network.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Mammography screening has been the best method for detecting early tumors and reducing breast cancer mortality according to different studies. In Brazil, the number of women who undergo mammography tests by the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS) has been far below international recommendations. Objective: To describe the number of mammographies, mammography coverage, and the amount spent on this exam during 2019 by SUS, in Brazil. Method: Ecological study with data from the Department of Informatics of the Brazilian Unified Health System and the Brazilian Institute for Geography and Statistics in order to verify the number of mammographies performed by the SUS concerning the Brazilian female population in Brazil, in the age group of 50 to 69 years, in the states and in macro-regions during 2019. Results: In 2019, 2,660,469 mammographies were performed in the country out of the expected total of 12,154,979, accounting for a 21.9% mammography coverage by SUS at the cost of BRL 117,841,231.97. The lowest coverage rates were verified in the states of Amapá (0.6%) and the Federal District (4.9%), whereas the best rates were found in the states of Paraná (29.7%) and Alagoas (29.6%). Conclusions: The number of mammographies performed in Brazil in 2019 by SUS corresponded to almost » of the country's need, with mammography coverage far below the target and being widely different among the many Brazilian states.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Medical congresses allow scientific production to be appropriately disseminated and discussed. However, most of the scientific papers presented at medical congresses do not go on to be published in indexed journals. The present study aimed to characterize the abstracts presented at three different congresses on breast cancer held in Brazil, and to determine the publication rate of these three events. Methods: Observational, retrospective study, where the observation unit consisted of the scientific papers presented at the Brazilian Congress of Mastology (CBM), Jornada Paulista de Mastologia (JPM) and Brazilian Breast Cancer Symposium (BBCS) in 2017. Initially, we recorded all the abstracts of works presented at the event. Subsequently, the works were searched in digital databases (BIREME/LILACS and MEDLINE/PubMed) and in the respective resumes of the authors on the Lattes platform. Results: The study included 266 abstracts of scientific papers presented in the three selected events, of which 21 (7.9%) were published in an indexed journal. Most of these studies were conducted predominantly in public institutions (71.1%), located in the State of São Paulo (30.5%) and were presented in the form of a poster (77.8%). The publication rate from the BBCS, CBM and JPM was 13.4, 5.4 and 3.4%, respectively (p = 0.03). Considering the published articles, there was no difference in journal impact factor between the congresses (p = 0.49). "Mastology" was the journal that received the largest number of publications (n = 8; 38.1%). Conclusion: In 2017, less than 10% of the abstracts on breast cancer presented at Brazilian congresses were published in an indexed journal. Among the main specialty events in the country, the Brazilian Breast Cancer Symposium has a significantly higher publication rate.