title: Rapid assessment breast clinics--evolution through audit.
abstract: This observational, cohort study aimed to examine the potential utility of Rapid Assessment Breast Clinics (RABC) beyond cancer detection at presentation. One thousand four hundred and twenty nine women were studied over an 18 month period. 154 (10.7%) had breast cancer - 87.7% of whom were seen expediently with 92.9% being diagnosed at one attendance. One hundred and forty three (10%) of those with a benign diagnosis were found by routine questioning to have significant familial risk separate to their reason for referral. Despite careful triage, considerable contamination of appointment allotment occurred with many who were correctly triaged as non-urgent being seen 'urgently'. One hundred and seventy six attendees (12.3%) had neither the symptom that triggered referral, nor breast lump, nipple discharge nor family history of breast cancer, while 283 (19.8%) had no objective clinical or radiological abnormality. Although RABC reliably categorise malignant versus non-malignant diagnoses despite cluttering by low risk women, a significant proportion of non-cancer patients still require address of future risk rather than reassurance of their present status alone.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Tallaght Breast Unit, Adelaide and Meath Hospitals incorporating the National Children's Hospital, Tallaght, Dublin 24, Ireland.
authors.forename: D P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Toomey
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Cahill
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Birido
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jeffers
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Loftus
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: McInerney
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rothwell
authors.forename: J G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Geraghty
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000553:Ambulatory Care / Q000592:standards*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004739:England; D005260:Female; D006782:Hospitals, Special; D006801:Humans; D008485:Medical Audit; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D014218:Triage; D014850:Waiting Lists