Practitioner compression force variability in mammography : a preliminary study

Mercer, CE; Hogg, P; Lawson, R; Diffey, J; Denton, E

Abstract

Objective: This preliminary study determines
whether the absolute amount of breast compression
in mammography varies between
and within practitioners.
Methods: Ethics approval was granted. 488
clients met the inclusion criteria. Clients were
imaged by 14 practitioners. Collated data included
Breast Imaging Reporting and Data
System (BI-RADS) density, breast volume,
compression and practitioner code.
Results: A highly significant difference in
mean compression used by different practitioners
(p,0.0001 for each BI-RADS density)
was demonstrated. Practitioners applied compression
in one of three ways using either low,
intermediate or high compression force, with
no significant difference in mean compression
within each group (p50.99, p50.70, p50.54,
respectively). Six practitioners showed a significant
correlation (p,0.05) between compression
and BI-RADS grade, with a tendency
to apply less compression with increasing
BI-RADS density. When compression was
analysed by breast volume there was a wide
variation in compression for a given volume.
The general trend was the application of
higher compression to larger breast volumes
by all three practitioner groups.
Conclusion: This study presents an insight
into practitioner variation of compression
application in mammography. Three groups
of practitioners were identified: those who
used low, intermediate and high compression
across the BI-RADS density grades. There
was wide variation in compression for any
given breast volume, with trends of higher
compression demonstrated for increasing
breast volumes. Collation of further studies
will facilitate a new perspective on the analysis
of practitioner, client and equipment
variables in mammography imaging.
Advances in knowledge: For the first time, it
has been practically demonstrated that practitioners
vary in the amount of compression
applied to breast tissue during routine
mammography.

Citation

Mercer, C., Hogg, P., Lawson, R., Diffey, J., & Denton, E. (2013). Practitioner compression force variability in mammography : a preliminary study. British Journal of Radiology, 86(1022), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1259/bjr.20110596

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Oct 15, 2012
• Online Publication Date: Jan 28, 2014
• Publication Date: Feb 1, 2013
• Deposit Date: Oct 8, 2013
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 8, 2013
• Journal: British Journal of Radiology
• Print ISSN: 0007-1285
• Electronic ISSN: 1748-880X
• Publisher: British Institute of Radiology
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 86
• Issue: 1022
• Pages: 1-9
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1259/bjr.20110596
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1259/bjr.20110596
• Related Public URLs: http://www.bir.org.uk/publications/journals/