title: Breast abscess, an early indicator for diabetes mellitus in non-lactating women: a retrospective study from rural India.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Breast abscess is commonly seen in lactating and non-lactating women. Diabetes mellitus (DM) frequently predisposes to soft tissue infections and has many different presentations. But DM presenting in the form of breast abscess is yet to be studied, and we believe our study is the first to explore this connection.
  
  
  METHODS
  We collected 30 cases of breast abscess in women who presented to our hospital from May 2010 to June 2011 retrospectively. They were classified into lactating and non-lactating women, and their glycemic status was evaluated, together with length of hospital stay, management, recurrence, and follow-up status after 6 months.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found that of the 30 patients in our study, 20% had high blood sugar levels. And 37.5% of the non-lactating women were diagnosed newly with DM.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study shows that DM can present as breast abscess in non-lactating women. Therefore, non-lactating women with a breast abscess should be evaluated for DM.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, St. Johns Hospital, P.O. Box No. 2, Kattappana South P.O., Idukki District, Kerala, 685515, India. drbasilgeorge@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Basil George
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Verghese
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, St. Johns Hospital, P.O. Box No. 2, Kattappana South P.O., Idukki District, Kerala, 685515, India.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ravikanth
mesh_terms: D000038:Abscess / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D000328:Adult; D001941:Breast Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D004927:Escherichia coli Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D016905:Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D007774:Lactation; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008875:Middle Aged; D011552:Pseudomonas Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D011550:Pseudomonas aeruginosa / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012008:Recurrence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012423:Rural Health; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*