A new search pattern for emergency breast exams: the clinical picture
- Resource Type
- Original Paper
- Authors
- Moore, Dan A.; Bracewell, Susana L.; Smith, Elana B.; Jordan, Sheryl G.
- Source
- Emergency Radiology: A Journal of Practical ImagingOfficial Journal of the American Society of Emergency Radiology. 29(1):207-213
- Subject
- Breast
Mastitis
Cancer
Breast emergencies
Ultrasound
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 1070-3004
1438-1435
Distinct breast diseases are readily diagnosed by clinical and ultrasound appearance that radiologists and sonographers may encounter in emergency room and urgent care patient presentations. While it may be impractical or impossible for the on-call emergency radiologist to examine a patient with breast complaints, radiologists can and should adopt the practice pattern to routinely seek out the clinical photographs in the patient’s medical record while interpreting breast examinations. Imaging should be interpreted in the context of both the history and the physical findings. Sonographers play important roles in the documentation of visual inspection findings, in addition to performing high quality targeted ultrasound where applicable. This pictorial offers resources to emergency radiologists and sonographers that facilitate rapid accurate diagnosis of ten distinct breast diseases.