Background Idiopathic granulomatous mastitis (IGM) is a benign disorder of the breast, for which the optimal treatment modality remains missing. Methods A total of 124 patients with a histopathologically proven diagnosis of IGM were enrolled in a prospective, randomized parallel arm study. Patients were treated with topical steroids in Group T (n: 42), systemic steroids (0.8 mg/kg/day peroral) in Group S (n: 42), and combined steroids (0.4 mg/kg/day peroral + topical) in Group C (n: 40). Compliance with the therapy, response to the therapy, the duration of therapy, side effects and the recurrence rates were compared. Results Sixteen patients did not comply with the treatment, and the highest ratio of compliance with therapy was seen in Group T (p < 0.05). Complete clinical regression (CCR) was observed in 90 (83.3%) patients. Response to the treatment (RT) was evaluated radiologically and observed in 89.8% of the patients. There was no statistically significant difference between groups regarding CCR, RT and the recurrence rate. The longest duration of therapy was observed in Group T (22 ± 9.1‐week), whereas the shortest was observed in Group S (11.7 ± 5.5‐week) (p < 0.001). The systemic side effects were significantly lower in Group T in comparison with Groups S and C (2.4% vs. 38.2% and 30.3%, respectively) (p < 0.001). Conclusions The efficiency of the treatment was similar for all groups, both clinically and radiologically. Although the duration of therapy was longer in Group T, the lack of systemic side effects increased the compliance of the patients with the therapy. Therefore, topical steroids would be among first‐line treatment options of IGM.

Introduction The diagnosis of patients with Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) suspicion but negative reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) test is challenging. Objective We aimed to investigate the diagnostic value of chest computed tomography (CT) in RT‐PCR‐negative patients with suspected COVID‐19. Materials and methods The study included patients who were admitted to our hospital with the suspicion of COVID‐19 between 1 April 2020 and 30 April 2020 and tested negative after RT‐PCR test, and underwent CT for further diagnosis. Initial CT findings were classified as typical, indeterminate, and atypical for COVID‐19, and negative for pneumonia. Incidental findings on CT were noted. Results Of the 338 patients with a mean age of 57 years (min 18 years–max 96 years), 168 (49.70%) were male and 170 (50.29%) were female. The most common symptoms were cough (58.87%), fever (40.82%), and dyspnea (39.34%). The CT findings were typical for COVID‐19 in 109 (32.24%) patients, indeterminate in 47 (13.90%) patients, and atypical in 77 (22.78%) patients. The CT findings of 105 (31.06%) patients were negative for pneumonia. Incidental lung nodules suspicious of malignancy were identified in seven patients. Seventy‐seven patients (22.78%) had extrapulmonary incidental findings Conclusion The diagnostic value of CT in RT‐PCR‐negative patients with suspected COVID‐19 is not very high. Based on clinical, laboratory, and chest x‐ray findings, it may be more appropriate to refer patients to CT after the first triage, when necessary.

Aim Although chest computed tomography (CT) score has been well evaluated in adult coronavirus disease (COVID‐19), its use in paediatric cases is insufficiently studied. Our aim is to evaluate the relationship of chest CT score with disease severity and laboratory parameters. Methods Seventy‐six paediatric patients with confirmed COVID‐19 and chest CT evaluation on admission have been included in this study. Chest CT score was calculated for each of the five lobes considering the extent of anatomical involvement, as follows: 0: 0%; 1: <5%; 2: 5%–25%; 3: 26%–50%; 4: 51%–75% and 5: >75%. The resulting total CT score was the sum of each individual lobar score; the range was between 0 and 25. Results Total chest CT score was found to be positively correlated with alanine aminotransferase and d‐dimer, and negatively correlated with lymphocyte count. In receiver operating characteristic analysis, total chest CT score had area under the curve 0.99 (95% confidence interval, 0.98–1.00) at cut‐off 2 with 95% sensitivity and 96% specificity for the severe disease. Furthermore, in‐depth analysis of lobar CT scores showed a correlation between left upper lobe with lymphocyte count, left lower lobe with d‐dimer, right middle and lower lobes with alanine aminotransferase and right upper lobe with leukocyte count. Conclusions There is a significant relationship between chest CT score and COVID‐19 severity and laboratory findings in children. This suggests that chest CT scores can be used to assess the severity of the disease and can play an important role in paediatric clinical practice.