BREAST ABSCESS;

COMPARISON OF RECURRENCE RATE BETWEEN INCISION DRAINAGE AND MULTIPLE NEEDLE ASPIRATION

Abstract

Objectives: To compare the recurrence rate between incision drainage and
multiple needle aspiration for breast abscess treatment. Study Design: Randomized Controlled
Trial. Setting: Department of General Surgery, Bahawal Victoria Hospital, Bahawalpur. Study
Duration: 29th September 2015 to 29th June 2016. Materials & Methods: A total of 60 female
patients with breast abscess of <2 cm in size and of duration <2 weeks between 20 to 40 years
of age were included. Patients with multiple breast abscesses, recurrent breast abscesses and
complicated abscesses were excluded. The patients were randomized into Group A (incision
and drainage) & Group B (needle aspiration), by using lottery method. Follow up was done for
up to 7 days and recurrence was noted. Results: The mean age of patients in group A was
30.83 ± 5.67 years and in group B was 31.53 ± 5.73 years. Mean duration of disease was 7.58
± 2.83 days. Mean size of abscess was 0.86 ± 0.43 cm. Recurrence was found in 07 (23.33%)
patients in group A (incision drainage) while in 21 (70.0%) patients in group B (multiple needle
aspiration) with p-value of 0.000 which is statistically significant. Conclusion: The recurrence
rate is less after incision & drainage as compared to multiple needle aspirations for treating
breast abscess.