THE IMPORTANCE OF PROPER TREATMENT OF LACTATIONAL MASTITIS
Authors: Lima Maysa Ramos de , Filgueira Rafaella Fiquene de Brito , Pires Pietra Wanderley , Crizanto Laryssa Marques Pereira 
Published: February 2023

Introduction: Lactational mastitis is an inflammatory process of the breast that may or may not cause uncomfortable clinical manifestations. It is also an important cause of weaning, according to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), increasing the cost of care, and hence becoming a public health problem. In addition, it can be observed that, as it is a harmful process, it interferes with the quality of life of the woman-mother and, consequently, the motherchild relations. In addition, an increased risk of transmission of the virus has been reported in those with this infection. Objective: This study analyzed the importance of adequate treatment of lactational mastitis. Methods: This is a literature review carried out in January 2022, through searches in the PubMed and SciELO search interface. The descriptors were used: “Mastitis” and “Lactational,” combined with the Boolean operator “AND.” The inclusion criteria were texts available in full, in English and Portuguese, which addressed the proposed theme. In contrast, duplicate articles were excluded, granted only in the form of abstracts and which did not answer the guiding question, and ending with five publications. Results: The greater mammary glandular activity together with breastfeeding, which induces a great deal of manipulation of the breast, causes the inflammatory processes to greatly affect the puerperal breast. The nipple, through galactophore channels, can become a gateway to infections, and the following are the most common microorganisms to cause this pathology: Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus group A or B, Escherichia coli, and Bacteroides sp. The predisposing factors are nipple anomalies and poor hygienic breastfeeding conditions, but the determining cause is sucking by the infant. During breastfeeding, the pain felt by the woman is the predominant symptom in the diagnosis, but bloody vomiting or stools with pure blood in the infant can also be warning signs. Thus, breast infection during breastfeeding requires an immediate and adequate treatment, since if left untreated it can lead to the interruption of breastfeeding, as well as more serious complications, such as the formation of a breast abscess. In this context, the treatment of mastitis can basically be done with an antibiotic therapy and emptying of the breast. Eventually, surgical drainage is performed in cases of abscess formation. Thus, the choice of the appropriate treatment becomes essential for the cure and prevention of complications in the mother and in the infant. Conclusion: In view of this, it is concluded that one of the factors related to early weaning is that the knowledge of its clinical characteristics allows the implementation of intervention measures that, when carried out in a preventive way, favor the reduction of new cases. It also consists of a serious condition that can be avoided with good quality primary health care. However, other studies need to be carried out to determine the incidence and predisposing factors for this pathology, in order to adopt a more appropriate approach.