Reviewer’s report
Title: 
Clinical characteristics and therapeutic strategy of granulomatous mastitis
accompanied by Corynebacterium kroppenstedtii: A retrospective cohort study
Version: 
0 
Date: 
10 Apr 2023
Reviewer's report:
"PEER REVIEWER ASSESSMENTS: 
OBJECTIVE - Full research articles: is there a clear objective that addresses a
testable research question(s) (brief or other article types: is there a clear
objective)?
Yes - there is a clear objective
DESIGN - Is the current approach (including controls and analysis protocols)
appropriate for the objective?
Yes - the approach is appropriate
EXECUTION - Are the experiments and analyses performed with technical rigor
to allow confidence in the results?
Yes - experiments and analyses were performed appropriately
STATISTICS - Is the use of statistics in the manuscript appropriate?
Yes - appropriate statistical analyses have been used in the study
INTERPRETATION - Is the current interpretation/discussion of the results
reasonable and not overstated?
Yes - the author's interpretation is reasonable
OVERALL MANUSCRIPT POTENTIAL - Is the current version of this work
technically sound? If not, can revisions be made to make the work technically
sound?
Probably - with minor revisions
PEER REVIEWER COMMENTS: 
GENERAL COMMENTS: Thank you for the opportunity to review this
manuscript, entitled, Clinical characteristics and therapeutic strategy of
Granulomatous mastitis accompanied by Corynebacterium kroppenstedtii - a
retrospective cohort study. 
This is a retrospective review of 201 patients from one centre, of patients
diagnosed with granulomatous mastitis, and stratified by those for whom C.
kroppenstedtii (CK) was found to be associated, and those for whom no bacteria
were isolated. 
Overall, this is a meaningful review and adds to the small amount
of literature on this topic. 
It is well-performed, with appropriate attention paid to
variables recorded for data presentation. 
This is a technically sound manuscript,
with some comments for follow-up below.
ADDITIONAL REQUESTS/SUGGESTIONS: 
The manuscript would benefit from an extensive review of formatting and
language used. 
There are many examples of colloquial phrasing as well as
improper grammar, especially for the use of articles (such as 'the'). 
Some phrases
such as ""suffered from"", ""delivery way"", ""lactating time"", ""parity times"",
""gravity times"" are decipherable to this reviewer, however would not be
appropriate phrasing for a scientific manuscript. 
In addition, close attention
should be paid to the tense of sentences to ensure that they are appropriate.
Throughout, there are several examples of acronyms used that are not defined in
the text, such as ""USG"" and ""TRAM"". 
They seem to have no context and are
used without explanation. 
Similarly, terms such as ""granulomatous mastitis""
and ""Corynebacterium kroppenstedtii"" are referred to as GM, and C.
kroppenstedtii or CK in a seemingly random fashion. 
Once these are defined,
continue using ""GM"" and ""CK"" throughout (or C. kroppenstedtii, by
convention). 
In addition, organism names should be italicized to conform with
convention.
The limitations portion of the discussion should comment on the difficulty in
growing CK in the laboratory, therefore those with ""no CK"" isolated might in
fact be associated with CK that either did not grow or were not seen on Gram
stain of the tissue sample. 
More detail is needed about the microbiological
process (how were the cultures set up - with special consideration for CK, such
as lipid-rich media?). 
Also, it would be good to know if there were any included
in the ""non-CK"" group who actually had organisms seen on the gram stain of
either the primary specimen for microbiology or on the slides examined for
pathology."
Declaration of competing interests
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interests, considering the following questions:
1
. 
Have you in the past five years received reimbursements, fees, funding, or
salary from an organisation that may in any way gain or lose financially
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or in the future?
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Do you hold or are you currently applying for any patents relating to the
content of the manuscript?
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Have you received reimbursements, fees, funding, or salary from an
organization that holds or has applied for patents relating to the content of
the manuscript?
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Do you have any other financial competing interests?
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Do you have any non-financial competing interests in relation to this
paper?
If you can answer no to all of the above, write 'I declare that I have no competing
interests' below. If your reply is yes to any, please give details below.
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Reviewers with declared or apparent competing interests are not utilized for
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under a Creative Commons Attribution License attributed to Research Square
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recommendation.
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Is the study design appropriate to answer the research question (including the use
of appropriate controls), and are the conclusions supported by the evidence
presented?
Yes
Are the methods sufficiently described to allow the study to be repeated?
Yes
Is the use of statistics and treatment of uncertainties appropriate?
Yes
Is the presentation of the work clear?
No
Are the images in this manuscript (including electrophoretic gels and blots) free
from apparent manipulation?
Yes
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No