Treatment of Granulomatous Mastitis: Is There a Role for Antibiotics?

OBJECTIVE: To perform a retrospective review of the clinical characteristics, microbiological data, and clinical outcomes in patients with granulomatous mastitis (GM) who were treated at our institution with a unique strategy of prolonged antibiotic therapy as the primary treatment modality. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective case series was performed on patients (n = 42) with GM seen at the breast specialty clinic of our institution between the years 2004 and 2014. Patients were primarily treated with lipophilic antibiotics, and steroids and surgery were reserved for refractory cases. RESULTS: Bacteria were identified in 34 samples from 22/42 patients (52.3%). Diphtheroids (presumptive Corynebacterium spp.) were most commonly identified, followed by Corynebacterium spp. and Propionibacterium acnes (now Cutibacterium acnes). Antibiotics were our preferred first-line medical therapy and were used in 33/36 (91.7%) patients. The mean duration of antibiotic therapy was 7.0±4.5 months. Clarithromycin was our antibiotic of choice and was the initial antibiotic used in 15 of the 33 patients (45.5%) treated with antibiotics. Eleven patients required adjunctive therapy with prednisone. The mean duration of steroid therapy was 4.3±2.5 months. Surgery for therapeutic purposes included incision and drainage in seven patients, fine needle aspiration in eight patients, and excision of the fistulous tract in one patient. No patients had large-volume excisions. The average time from the first breast clinic visit to clinical resolution was 8.0±4.6 months. CONCLUSION: GM may be the result of a bacterial process that induces a unique form of inflammatory response. Clinicians should consider special requests to microbiology laboratories to attempt to isolate Corynebacterium spp. in the evaluation of samples sent to the laboratory for analysis. An extended course of a lipophilic antibiotic is a largely unexplored but potentially effective treatment option with low associated morbidity. More research is needed in this area.

Breast Cancer Risk Assessment: A Step-Wise Approach for Primary Care Providers on the Front Lines of Shared Decision Making.

Breast cancer-screening guidelines increasingly recommend that clinicians perform a risk assessment for breast cancer to inform shared decision making for screening. Precision medicine is quickly becoming the preferred approach to cancer screening, with the aim of increased surveillance in high-risk women, while sparing lower-risk women the burden of unnecessary imaging. Risk assessment also informs clinical care by refining screening recommendations for younger women, identifying women who should be referred to genetic counseling, and identifying candidates for risk-reducing medications. Several breast cancer risk-assessment models are currently available to help clinicians categorize a woman's risk for breast cancer. However, choosing the appropriate model for a given patient requires a working knowledge of the strengths, weaknesses, and performance characteristics of each. The aim of this article is to provide a stepwise approach for clinicians to assess an individual woman's risk for breast cancer and describe the features, appropriate use, and performance characteristics of commonly encountered risk-prediction models. This approach will help primary care providers engage in shared decision making by efficiently generating an accurate risk assessment and make clear, evidence-based screening and prevention recommendations that are appropriately matched to a woman's risk for breast cancer.

Hormone replacement therapy after risk reducing salpingo-oophorectomy in patients with BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations; a systematic review of risks and benefits.

Women with germline BRCA1 or BRCA2 (BRCA) mutations, are recommended risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy (RRSO) prior to menopause. Surgical menopause has significant impact on patients' health and well-being. Subsequently, concerns about surgical menopause influence uptake of RRSO in high risk women. The role of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in BRCA mutation carriers undergoing RRSO has been controversial. In the general population, premature surgical menopause is associated with worse quality of life and cognitive function, and increased risk of bone and cardiovascular disease; HRT continued until the natural age of menopause is shown to alleviate a number of these effects. Conflicting information has been published on HRT and breast cancer risk. For BRCA mutation carriers, potential augmentation of already elevated breast cancer risk is of great concern. In this article, we provide a review of the literature on HRT in this high-risk population, including effects on quality of life, cardiovascular, bone, and brain health. We also review impact of HRT on breast cancer risk, with a discussion of HRT formulation and surgical approach. Though evidence is limited, HRT after RRSO has a number of reported benefits and does not appear to impact breast cancer risk reduction in BRCA mutation carriers. This information is critical when discussing RRSO with patients, as providers should review risks of early menopause and treatment options. This review provides information to assist with counseling this specific population.

Osteoporosis: screening, prevention, and management.

Osteoporosis is characterized by low bone mineral density (BMD) and abnormal bone architecture. Common fracture sites are vertebrae, proximal femur, and distal forearm. Osteoporosis is underdiagnosed and undertreated. All women 65 and older should be screened. Consider screening younger postmenopausal women with elevated risk. Osteoporosis is diagnosed based on T score or a fragility fracture. Women with osteoporosis or who have a 10-year risk of any major fracture of 20% or hip fracture of 3% should be evaluated for causes of low bone density and treated with an osteoporosis-specific medication, lifestyle interventions, and calcium and vitamin D intake.

Prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency and clinical associations among veiled East African women in Washington State.

AIMS: Cultural and biological factors place immigrant women from equatorial Africa at increased risk of vitamin D insufficiency. This could in part explain the high prevalence of fatigue, musculoskeletal complaints, and depressive symptoms in this population. METHODS: In a cross-sectional study of East African immigrant women in Washington State, 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) serum concentrations and multiple measures of physical and psychological symptoms were assessed. Mean serum 25(OH)D serum concentrations and chi-square were used to assess differences between groups. Multiple logistic regression was used to explore differences in the symptoms of subjects with varying degrees of vitamin D deficiency/insufficiency. RESULTS: Of the 75 women interviewed and who completed surveys, 25(OH)D serum samples were available in 71 subjects. All were found to have low 25(OH)D; 9 (12.3%) had or= 15 ng/mL (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 0.33, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.11-0.99). Musculoskeletal complaints, depressive symptoms, and fatigue did not correlate with the severity of 25(OH)D insufficiency. CONCLUSIONS: Vitamin D insufficiency, as reflected by low 25(OH)D serum concentrations, was a universal finding in this group of women, suggesting the need for widespread education and intervention in this and other immigrant groups at northern latitudes.

Frequency of mastalgia among women veterans. Association with psychiatric conditions and unexplained pain syndromes.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence and frequency of mastalgia and its association with psychiatric conditions and unexplained pain syndromes. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Cross-sectional mailed survey completed by 1,219 female veterans enrolled at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System in 1998. MEASUREMENTS: Breast pain in the past year, unrelated to pregnancy, was categorized as infrequent (< or =monthly) or frequent (> or =weekly) mastalgia. Surveys assessed posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, panic disorder, and alcohol misuse with validated screening tests, as well as self-reported past-year chronic pelvic pain, fibromyalgia, and irritable bowel syndrome. RESULTS: The response rate was 63%. Fifty-five percent of the respondents reported past-year mastalgia. Of these, 15% reported frequent mastalgia. Compared to women without mastalgia, women reporting frequent mastalgia were more likely to screen positive for PTSD (odds ratio [OR] 5.2, 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.2 to 8.4), major depression (OR 4.2, 2.6 to 6.9), panic disorder (OR 7.1, 3.9 to 12.8), eating disorder (OR 2.6, 1.5 to 4.7), alcohol misuse (OR 1.8, 1.1 to 2.8), or domestic violence (OR 3.1, 1.9 to 5.0), and to report fibromyalgia (OR 3.9, 2.1 to 7.4), chronic pelvic pain (OR 5.4, 2.7 to 10.5), or irritable bowel syndrome (OR 2.8, 1.6 to 4.8). Women with infrequent mastalgia were also more likely than women without mastalgia to screen positive for PTSD, depression, or panic disorder, or report pelvic pain or irritable bowel syndrome, although associations were weaker than with frequent mastalgia. CONCLUSIONS: Like other unexplained pain syndromes, frequent mastalgia is strongly associated with PTSD and other psychiatric conditions. Clinicians seeing patients with frequent mastalgia should inquire about anxiety, depression, alcohol misuse, and trauma history.

Developing a peer review process for web-based curricula: minting a new coin of the realm.

The World Wide Web creates new challenges and opportunities for medical educators. Prominent among these are the lack of consistent standards by which to evaluate web-based educational tools. We present the instrument that was used to review web-based innovations in medical education submissions to the 2003 Society of General Internal Medicine (SGIM) national meeting, and discuss the process used by the SGIM web-based clinical curriculum interest group to develop the instrument. The 5 highest-ranked submissions are summarized with commentary from the reviewers.