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Usability of advanced pneumatic compression to treat cancer‐related head and neck lymphedema: A feasibility study
Author(s) -
Mayrovitz Harvey N.,
Ryan Shelly,
Hartman James M.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
head and neck
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.012
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1097-0347
pISSN - 1043-3074
DOI - 10.1002/hed.24995
Subject(s) - medicine , lymphedema , usability , head and neck cancer , adverse effect , head and neck , physical therapy , surgery , cancer , radiation therapy , breast cancer , human–computer interaction , computer science
Background This functional usability study assessed ease of use, fit, comfort, and potential clinical benefits of advanced pneumatic compression treatment of cancer‐related head and neck lymphedema. Methods Patient‐reported comfort and other treatment aspects were evaluated and multiple face and neck measurements were obtained on 44 patients with head and neck lymphedema before and after 1 treatment session to assess usability and treatment‐related lymphedema changes. Results A majority of the patients (82%) reported the treatment was comfortable; most patients (61%) reported feeling better after treatment, and 93% reported that they would be likely to use this therapy at home. One treatment produced overall small but highly statistically significant reductions in composite metrics (mean ± SD) of the face (82.5 ± 4.3 cm vs 80.9 ± 4.1 cm; P < .001) and neck (120.4 ± 12.2 cm vs 119.2 ± 12.1 cm; P < .001) with no adverse events. Conclusion Results found the treatment to be safe, easy to use, and well tolerated while demonstrating edema reduction after a single initial treatment.