Acute Mastitis

Excerpt

Mastitis is inflammation of the breast and can be categorized into lactational and non-lactational mastitis. Lactational mastitis is the most common form of mastitis. Non-lactational mastitis includes periductal mastitis and idiopathic granulomatous mastitis (IGM).

Lactational mastitis, or puerperal mastitis, is typically due to prolonged engorgement of milk ducts, with infection from bacterial entry through breaks in the skin. Patients can develop a focal area of erythema, pain, and swelling and can have associated systemic symptoms, most notably fever. This occurs most often in the first 6 weeks of breastfeeding but can occur at any time during lactation, with most cases decreasing after 3 months.

Periductal mastitis is a benign inflammatory condition affecting the subareolar ducts and occurs most commonly in reproductive-aged women. Alternatively, IGM is a rare benign inflammatory condition that can clinically mimic breast cancer and occurs primarily in parous women ordinarily within 5 years of giving birth.