KMID : 0614720210640100671
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Journal of Korean Medical Association 2021 Volume.64 No. 10 p.671 ~ p.677
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Precautions for breast ultrasound examination following COVID-19 vaccination
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Ha Su-Min
Chang Jung-Min
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Abstract
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Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine-induced lymphadenopathy is a critical side effect that should be a concern to clinicians, patients, radiologists, and oncologists. Vaccine-induced lymphadenopathy causes a diagnostic dilemma, especially for breast radiologists who examine both axillary regions during breast ultrasound examinations. Appropriate imaging guidelines are needed to manage vaccine-induced lymphadenopathy for patients undergoing screening examinations or symptomatic patients, including cancer patients.
Current Concepts: For patients with axillary lymphadenopathy in the setting of recent ipsilateral vaccination, clinical follow-up is recommended. In other scenarios, short-term follow-up axillary ultrasound examinations are recommended if the clinical concerns persist for more than 6 weeks after vaccination. To mitigate the diagnostic dilemma of vaccine-induced lymphadenopathy, patients should schedule screening imaging examinations before the first vaccination or at least six weeks following the second vaccination. For clinicians and radiologists, documenting the patients¡¯ vaccination status is critical to decreasing unnecessary follow-up imaging, biopsies, and patient¡¯s anxiety.
Discussion and Conclusion: Our proposal can help reduce patient anxiety, provider burden, and costs of unnecessary evaluation of enlarged lymph nodes in the setting of recent COVID-19 vaccination. Further, it can avoid delays in vaccination and breast cancer screening during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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KEYWORD
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COVID-19, Vaccination, Lymph nodes, Breast ultrasonography
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