Mammography utilization in a skilled nursing facility.
OBJECTIVE
To examine mammography utilization and subsequent clinical decisions in a skilled nursing facility in women aged 75 years and older with no history of breast cancer.


METHODS
This study was a retrospective medical chart review of 95 women living in a skilled nursing facility aged 75 years and older who did not have a history of breast cancer.


RESULTS
One-hundred seventy-nine mammograms were performed on 95 patients with an average of 1.9 mammograms per patient. Forty-five percent of the women had some evidence of abnormal results requiring further investigation.


CONCLUSIONS
Determining the utility of screening mammography in long-term care populations is essential to the development of appropriate guidelines. Future research should further explore the influence of patient preferences and psychological burden.
Kerins
G
G
University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington 06030-6232, USA.
Gruman
C
C
Schwartz
R
R
Rauch
E A
EA
Curry
L
L
Fogel
D
D
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003237:Connecticut; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008327:Mammography / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012866:Skilled Nursing Facilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*