[Successful therapy of nonpuerperal mastitis--already routine or still a rarity?]

The data from 102 patients with an average age of 36 +/- 14.4 years, who underwent treatment for nonpuerperal mastitis (NPM) were examined. After a definite diagnosis had been made, the patients were treated with a prolactin inhibitor either on its own, or in combination with antibiotics. In 34.1% of the patients, the abscess was either opened or tumour remnants were exstirpated. 51.9% of the patients acquired the disease between the ages of 18 and 40 years. In 62.7%, it was the first incidence of NPM. 86.3% had a previous history of other mammary disorders, e.g. mastodyny or macromasty. 55.9% were prone to irregular menstruation and 50% showed incidence of disorders of the thyroid gland. The characteristic clinical signs were reddening, infiltration, enlarged lymph nodes and in 37.5% of the patients a primary abscess. 75% of the patients, who underwent thermographic scanning, showed incidence of hot spots and 71.7% of the patients, who underwent a mammography, presented pathological results. 63% of the 54 patients, exclusively treated with antibiotics, showed incidence of abscesses as opposed to only 25% of the 48 patients treated with bromocriptin. In the first group, the overall rate of cure was 29.6% compared to 93.7% among those patients, treated with bromocriptin. An exact anamnesis highlights the pathophysiological mechanisms, that most probably leads to the disease. In 13.7%, a suspected inflammatory mammary carcinoma required a histological investigation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)