Evaluation of Breast Disorders among Patients Undergoing Mammography at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital in Kisumu County

Abstract

Background: The complete mammographic pattern of breast disorders in Kenya largely remains unknown. Recently a number of private health facilities and charities in Kenya have embarked on breast health awareness campaigns that mainly revolve around the month of October every year. During such campaigns, both men and women of various age groups and diverse backgrounds do turn up for physical screening and those that are at risk of breast cancer undergo baseline mammographic examinations.

Objectives:The study evaluated the pattern of breast disorders among patients that sought mammography services at the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital in Kisumu county. The specific objectives of the study included; to analyze the socio-demographic characteristics of patients undergoing mammography, determine the most prevalent mammographic finding among the patients, and lastly document the distribution pattern of disorders among patients undergoing mammography.

Methods: The data collection method employed during the study was observational checklists completed by the researcher pre and post the mammographic procedure. The study collected data from 30 patients in Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital in Kisumu County. The data was analyzed using MS Excel after which a combination of descriptive statistics and graphical presentation of the data was then undertaken.

Results: The majority of respondents had attained primary level of education, which made up to 50% (n=15), while those with secondary level of education comprised 34% (n=10) but a paltry 17 % (n=5) had attained tertiary level of education (colleges and university). Most of the respondents undergoing mammographic examinations were 35years and above which had 84% while those below 35years were only 16%. About 67% (n=20) respondents' mammographic results showed suspicious features warranting the need of core biopsy of the breast lesion to rule out the cancerous cells. This was followed by intraductal papilloma which 13% (n=4) respondents had and then Paget's disease of the nipple which had 3 respondents. As per the study findings, most respondents were female with a percentage of 97% (n=29) while 3% (n=1) were male. The leading symptom was breast lump taking bigger percentage of 35% and then followed by painful lumpiness of the breast.

Conclusion and Recommendation: Most of the 30 cases sampled all of them yielded positive findings to one form of breast disorder or the other. Further to this, the disproportionately low number of male patients seeking mammography services at the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital warrants step up of health communication strategies to positively impact on breast health seeking behavior among residents of Kisumu and its environs. Contrary to a number of past research studies, the number of mammographic referrals from far-flung areas from the hospital far outweighed the number of cases from the immediate catchment areas to the facility.