Neonatal Breast Abscess Caused by Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus

Abstract

A 28-day-old female infant was brought with a progressively enlarging mass in the left breast that had first been noticed 3 days earlier. She had a history of omphalitis. On physical examination, the skin over the entire left breast was erythematous and a 2-cm mass was noted in the retroareolar area. The yellow contents could be observed through the thinned skin surface of the mass. Although the patient was afebrile, her white blood cell count was 14,880/ul. Ultrasound examination of the breast revealed an ill-defined low-echoic mass with no blood flow. Through a periareolar incision, the purulent contents of the mass were drained, and culture of the pus aspirate grew Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The lesion quickly resolved after the drainage and antibiotic treatment. The mastitis could have been caused by the omphalitis.