Epidemiology of Silicone Breast Implants

Barbara G. Silverman; S. Lori Brown; Roselie A. Bright

doi:10.7326/0003-4819-126-8-199704150-00034

Letters |15 April 1997

Epidemiology of Silicone Breast Implants

Barbara G. Silverman, MD, MPH; S. Lori Brown, PhD, MPH; Roselie A. Bright, ScD

Article, Author, and Disclosure Information

IN RESPONSE:

We agree that anecdotal reports and case series are insufficient to establish the existence of a new disease entity or determine its cause. The purpose of our article was not to discuss such reports, which have been summarized elsewhere and do not meet the criteria for epidemiologic studies. Still, as Dr. Whysner points out, such reports may be the first clues to a previously unrecognized disease entity. Although many “new” syndromes are in fact variants of known disorders, new diseases such as the eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome and Lyme disease are occasionally reported [1]. Crucial to the study of such “new” entities is the establishment of a case definition based on case reports. For instance, although the eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome had some “scleroderma-like” features [2, 3], it was recognized that the syndrome differed from true scleroderma. One wonders whether the remarkably rapid progress in associating L-tryptophan with the syndrome would have been possible if researchers had dismissed early case reports as anecdotal or had confined their studies to persons with defined connective tissue disorders rather than formulating a case definition for a new syndrome.

FULL TEXT

PDF

Not Available

Letters |15 April 1997

Epidemiology of Silicone Breast Implants

Content

Information For

Services

Awards and Cover

Other Resources

Follow Annals On

Letters |15 April 1997

Epidemiology of Silicone Breast Implants

Content

Information For

Services

Awards and Cover

Other Resources

Follow Annals On

You need a subscription to this content to use this feature.