BACKGROUND Tuberculosis remains a global health burden, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Breast tuberculosis is a rare disease with minimal research available. This disease produces a diagnostic challenge as the clinical presentation is variable, and diagnosis often requires additional investigations. This study was undertaken to determine the efficacy of cytology and histology, together with ancillary studies, in diagnosing tuberculous mastitis. METHODS This retrospective study was conducted in a Johannesburg Hospital over five years. Thirty-two patients with confirmed tuberculous mastitis were included. The patients were considered positive for tuberculous mastitis if histological or cytological findings were confirmed with either a positive tuberculosis culture, Ziehl-Neelsen stain or polymerase chain reaction examination/GeneXpert. RESULTS This case series comprises 3 males and 29 females with a mean age of 35.66. A breast mass was the most common presentation. Over these five years, more biopsies were performed on inflammatory breast lesions than fine needle aspirations. There was a higher confirmation rate for cytology diagnoses compared to histology diagnoses. CONCLUSION This study supports using fine needle aspiration combined with GeneXpert as the primary diagnostic modality in diagnosing tuberculous mastitis. This test combination is advantageous in resource and financially constrained environments as it is relatively simple to perform, cost-effective and has a rapid turnaround time.

中文翻译：

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结核性乳腺炎患者临床病理特征的回顾性分析：单一机构的经验。

背景技术结核病仍然是全球健康负担，特别是在低收入和中等收入国家。乳腺结核是一种罕见疾病，现有研究很少。由于临床表现多变，这种疾病产生了诊断挑战，并且诊断通常需要额外的检查。本研究旨在确定细胞学和组织学以及辅助研究在诊断结核性乳腺炎中的功效。方法 这项回顾性研究在约翰内斯堡一家医院进行了五年多。其中包括 32 名确诊为结核性乳腺炎的患者。如果通过阳性结核培养物、Ziehl-Neelsen 染色或聚合酶链反应检查/GeneXpert 证实组织学或细胞学结果，则认为患者患有结核性乳腺炎。结果 本病例系列包括 3 名男性和 29 名女性，平均年龄 35.66 岁。乳房肿块是最常见的表现。在这五年中，对炎症性乳腺病变进行的活检比细针抽吸术更多。与组织学诊断相比，细胞学诊断的确诊率更高。结论 本研究支持使用细针抽吸结合 GeneXpert 作为诊断结核性乳腺炎的主要诊断方式。这种测试组合在资源和财务受限的环境中具有优势，因为它执行起来相对简单、经济高效且周转时间短。