Breast pain is a very common complaint in women presenting to the outpatient department. It causes a certain degree of discomfort, anxiety leading to repeated investigations, and to some degree disturbs their lifestyle. This prospective study was carried out at King Fahd Hospital of the University, Alkhobar. Two hundred women presenting to the outpatient surgical department with mastalgia were included; 100 women received treatment with danazole, and the other 100 were asked to wear sports brassieres for 12 weeks. They were requested to answer a structured questionnaire during the specified period, and an extensive review of the literature was also performed. Patients were compliant with the instructions. The first group had 58% relief of symptoms, but 42% experienced drug side effects; in the second group, all participants had some degree of initial discomfort followed by relief of symptoms in 85% of cases. Most patients claimed that their lifestyle had changed dramatically after using the sports brassieres. Mastalgia is a common disease that may run a chronic course. Many patients are unsatisfied with prescribed medications and tend to discontinue treatment when side effects develop. Active breast movement on its weak suspensory ligaments may contribute considerably to mastalgia. Good external support by sports brassieres can relieve most of the patient's symptoms.

Among 527 patients with thyroid disease who underwent surgery at our hospital during a 20-year period, 2 (0.4%) had tuberculous thyroiditis mimicking carcinoma. The first patient was a 44-year-old man with a solitary thyroid nodule and the second was a 24-year old man with a thyroid abscess. The unexpected diagnosis was made postoperatively and was based on histological findings in both patients. No primary focus was found elsewhere in either patient, and both responded to antituberculous chemotherapy. Although the diagnosis is usually based on examination of resected specimens, recent reports indicate that find-needle aspiration cytology is a cost-effective technique of diagnosing thyroid tuberculosis. A review of 35 cases reported in the English literature is also discussed.

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