BACKGROUND Lactational breast abscesses are uncommon in the puerperium but when they do develop, delays in specialist referral may occur especially in resource low settings. There is a dearth of studies regarding lactational breast abscesses in Cameroon. We aimed to estimate the incidence of lactational breast abscess and describe its management by percutaneous aspiration at the Douala General Hospital, Cameroon. METHODS We conducted an observational prospective study of 25 breastfeeding women at the Douala General Hospital from January 1, 2015, to October 31, 2015. Participants were consenting breastfeeding women who completed a baseline questionnaire after diagnosis of lactational breast abscesses and underwent percutaneous needle aspiration under local anaesthesia. Data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics. RESULTS The estimated incidence of lactational breast abscesses was 0.74% (28/3792). The age range of babies at the onset of breast abscess was 4 to 35 weeks; mean 28.3 ± 10.85 weeks. Forty-four per cent of participants underwent three lactational abscess aspirations and in 24 to 28% of them, it took 8 to 9 days for the abscess to resolve. In 72% of participants, treatment was with needle aspiration plus flucloxacillin. Seventy-six per cent of participants continued breastfeeding after abscess treatment. CONCLUSION The estimated incidence of lactational breast abscess at the Douala General Hospital is 0.74%. Percutaneous needle aspiration under local anaesthesia is an effective treatment for superficial lactational breast abscesses in most cases with or without ultrasound guidance and should be recommended worldwide as first line treatment. Further research is needed to understand the outcome of local infiltration of antibiotics on the abscess cavity.

中文翻译：

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喀麦隆杜阿拉综合医院经乳腺乳腺脓肿的估计发病率及其经皮穿刺处理的描述。

背景哺乳期乳房脓肿在产褥期并不常见，但是当它们确实发展时，特别是在资源贫乏地区，专科转诊可能会出现延迟。喀麦隆缺乏关于哺乳期乳腺脓肿的研究。我们旨在评估哺乳期乳腺脓肿的发病率，并通过喀麦隆杜阿拉综合医院的经皮抽吸术描述其治疗方法。方法从2015年1月1日至2015年10月31日，我们在杜阿拉综合医院对25名母乳喂养妇女进行了一项观察性前瞻性研究。研究对象同意在诊断为泌乳性乳脓肿并在以下条件下接受经皮针吸术后完成基线调查问卷的母乳喂养妇女。局部麻醉。使用描述性统计数据分析数据。结果估计乳汁性乳腺脓肿的发生率为0.74％（28/3792）。发生乳房脓肿的婴儿年龄范围为4至35周。平均28.3±10.85周。44％的参与者进行了3次泌乳脓肿抽吸，其中24％至28％的脓肿消散需要8至9天。在72％的参与者中，采用针吸加氟氯西林治疗。76％的参与者在脓肿治疗后继续母乳喂养。结论杜阿拉总医院乳腺脓肿的估计发病率为0.74％。局部麻醉下经皮穿刺针吸术是大多数有或没有超声引导的情况下对浅表性乳腺脓肿的有效治疗方法，应在全世界范围内推荐作为一线治疗方法。