CORRESPONDENCE

Mammography reporting at Tygerberg Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa

To the Editor: The evasive response of Apffelstaedt et al.^[1] with regard to the actual mammographic reporting methodology that forms the basis of their research^[2] highlights concerns reflected in our letter^[3] and raises clinical, ethical and scientific questions.

Apffelstaedt et al. need to explain exactly how they, as clinicians, independently report Tygerberg Hospital mammograms when their only access to the required digital reporting monitors is at a joint weekly meeting with radiologists, in the Division of Radiodiagnosis, at which time reports already generated by radiologists are reviewed.

Richard Pitcher (Head of Division of Radiodiagnosis),
Jan Lotz
Christelle Ackermann
Asif Bagadia
Razaan Davis
Anne-Marie du Plessis
Stephanie Griffith-Richards
Retha Hattingh
Georg Wagener

Division of Radiodiagnosis, Department of Medical Imaging and Clinical Oncology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Tygerberg Hospital and Stellenbosch University, Tygerberg, Cape Town, South Africa pitcher@sun.ac.za

1. Apffelstaedt J, Dalmayer L, Baatjes K. Mammography reporting at Tygerberg Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa: Response. S Afr Med J 2014;104(7):456-457. [http://dx.doi.org/10.7196/SAMJ.8455]        [ Links ]

2. Apffelstaedt JP, Dalmayer L, Baatjes K. Mammographic screening for breast cancer in a resource- restricted environment. S Afr Med J 2014;104(4):294-296. [http://dx.doi.org/10.7196/SAMJ.7246]        [ Links ]

3. Pitcher R, Lotz J, Ackermann C, et al. Mammography reporting at Tygerberg Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa. S Afr Med J 2014;104(7):456-457. [http://dx.doi.org/10.7196/SAMJ.8455]        [ Links ]