ABSTRACT
Introduction: Breast pain as an isolated symptom, with a normal clinical examination, is rarely associated with sinister pathology. In our service we manage these patients out with the one stop clinic (OSC), as most do not require breast imaging and / or biopsy. COVID19 has forced reduction in face-to-face outpatient appointments. We developed an advanced nurse practitioner-led telephone clinic (TC) to manage patients referred with breast pain. Here we describe the outcomes of this service. Methods: Retrospective single centre review of breast pain TC January - October 2021. Electronic patient records for all appointments were reviewed. Attendance, referral information, previous breast history, re-referrals to service and clinic outcomes were recorded. Data was compared with the same clinic performed in person, prior to COVID19. Results: 208 patients were assessed. A proportion were previous breast cancer patients (28/208, 13.5%). 18/208 (8.7%) required assessment in OSC after TC, because of patient concern about a lump. None were diagnosed with cancer. This is a higher proportion of patients needing OSC assessment after an in person pain clinic assessment (2/210, 1%), but remains low. 11/208 (5.3%) patients were re-referred from primary care following discharge from TC, comparable to in person pain clinic (11/210, 5%). Conclusion: TC is a valid way to manage patients referred with breast pain as an isolated symptom. There is a low incidence of cancer in this cohort and no need for OSC assessment. Most patients are reassured and discharged following a normal clinical examination in primary care and TC assessment.