Ultrasonic evaluation of milk duct dilatation in mastalgia in Erbil, Iraq

Abstract

Background and objective:As the etiology of mastalgia is poorly understood this study applied ultrasonography to mastalgia patients with the aim of analyzing the significance of milk duct dilatation in patients with mastalgia. Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 170 women with the mean age of 31 years presenting with breast pain who were referred to the Radiology Department of the Maternity and Rizgari Teaching Hospitals from October 2008 to September 2009. The breasts of each woman were examined by ultrasound scan with special attention was focused on the milk ducts. The presence and the width of the ducts were documented. Each woman was asked for pain intensity and breast pain intensity evaluated as mild, moderate and severe. Results: The mean±SD diameter of duct was 3.99±1.37 mm. The mean diameter of the duct was higher among the younger age group of <25 years than older age groups (4.28 vs 3.95 and 3.87), among married than singles (3.99 vs 3.90) and among those having cyclic pain compared to those having non-cyclic pain (4.0 vs 3.95). However, these differences were not statistically significant. The mean diameter of the duct was significantly higher among those having bilateral pain than those having unilateral pain (4.47 for bilateral vs 4.02 for left side and 3.61 for right side) and among those having severe pain compared to those having moderate or mild pain (4.91 vs 3.40 and 3.28). Conclusion:The study results show that duct ectasia is a major factor in determining the severity of mastalgia with no significance difference between cyclical and non-cyclical mastalgia.