To explore the diagnostic value of ultrasound and fiberoptic ductoscopy in patients with pathological nipple discharge.

A retrospective analysis was performed on 426 patients (a total of 430 breasts) with pathological nipple discharge who completed ultrasound and fiberoptic ductoscopy at Hangzhou First People's Hospital Affiliated to Zhejiang University School of Medicine from September 2013 to May 2019. Taking pathological and clinical diagnosis as the gold standard, the four-grid table was used to calculate the diagnostic efficacy of ultrasound, fiberoptic ductoscopy, and their combination for breast ductal lesions.

Among 430 breasts, 187 were positive for breast ductal lesions and 243 were negative. The diagnostic sensitivity, accuracy, and negative predictive value of fiberoptic ductoscopy were higher than those of ultrasound (86.10% vs 61.50%, 82.09% vs 78.14%, and 88.07% vs 74.43%, respectively), and the diagnostic specificity and positive predictive value of ultrasound were higher than those of fiberoptic ductoscopy (90.95% vs 79.01% and 83.94% vs 75.94%, respectively). The diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy of ultrasound combined with fiberoptic ductoscopy (when any one of which was positive, it would be judged as positive) were 100%, 95.88%, 94.92%, 100%, and 97.67%, respectively, which were higher than those of either of them.

Ultrasound combined with fiberoptic ductoscopy has good diagnostic value for patients with pathological nipple discharge, and can provide evidence for their clinical management and follow-up.