DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2019.v07i03.003

Pages: 871-875

Background: This study aimed to assess palpable breast lumps with triple assessment test and correlate them with histopathological result. Methods: This was a prospective observational study conducted in a rural setup at PES Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Kuppam, from DECEMBER 2016 to JUNE 2018 which included all female patients, irrespective of age, with clinically palpable breast lump(s). Patients with breast abscess, antibioma, mastitis, infected cyst, mammary fistula, prior breast surgery and breast trauma were excluded from the study. Totally 100 patients were studied. Results: Of the 100 patients, Clinical Breast Examination (CBE) and Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) showed similar results; 66 as benign and 34 as malignant with sensitivity and specificity of 98.5% and 94.3% respectively. Radiological diagnosis showed benign nature in 64 patients and malignancy in 36 patients with a sensitivity and specificity of 96.9% and 97.1% respectively. Using these parameters a triple test score was calculated (taking at least 2 out of 3 components pointing towards similar diagnosis) which showed 66 as benign lesions and 34 as malignancies and gave a sensitivity of 98.5% and specificity of 97.1%. Based on these findings appropriate surgeries were done and specimen was sent for Histopathological examination (HPE) which revealed that 65 patients had benign lesions whereas 35 patients had malignancies. Conclusions: This study highlights the importance of triple assessment in diagnosing various palpable breast lesions with its high sensitivity and specificity, it’s impact on the surgical decision making and final HPE correlation.