Premium
Characteristics of new referrals to twenty‐seven lymphoedema treatment units
Author(s) -
John Sitzia,
Mary Woods,
Paul Hine,
Anne Williams,
Kenneth A Eaton,
G Green
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
european journal of cancer care
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.849
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1365-2354
pISSN - 0961-5423
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2354.1998.00112.x
Subject(s) - medicine , lymphedema , population , prospective cohort study , breast cancer , cancer , radiation therapy , surgery , physical therapy , environmental health
Lymphoedema affects 25–28% of patients who have undergone axillary surgery or radiotherapy in the treatment of cancer. The prevalence of primary lymphoedema or of lymphoedema secondary to non‐cancer causes is unknown. In addition, basic demographic and disease characteristics of the lymphoedema population remain undocumented. We conducted a prospective survey to determine these characteristics. Lymphoedema treatment clinics in the UK were invited to participate at the British Lymphology Society 1996 Annual Conference. Twenty‐seven clinics collected a standard data set for all new referrals in a 3‐month period in 1997. The sample size was 603. The mean number of new referrals was 7.4 patients per unit per month. Eighty per cent of patients had cancer‐related lymphoedema, and 86% of patients were female. Patients’ mean age was 61.0 years. Thirty‐seven per cent of the sample had suffered lymphoedema for less than 3 months, and 15% for 5 years or more. Patients with non‐cancer related oedema had suffered the condition disproportionately longer than the cancer‐related group (χ 2 = 102.2, P < 0.001). Sixty‐six per cent of patients were reported as having lymphoedema at more than one site. Seventy‐four per cent of all patients suffered unilateral limb oedema, and 23% bilateral limb oedema. Bilateral swelling was recorded for 67% of the non‐cancer related group and 13% of the cancer related group (χ 2 = 153.4, P < 0.001). Median percentage excess volume (PCEV) for all patients with unilateral limb oedema was 16.4%. There was a positive relationship between PCEV and duration of the condition ( H = 24.0, P < 0.001), and PCEV and non‐cancer related lymphoedema ( H = 10.5, P < 0.05). These results suggest that patients with non‐cancer related lymphoedema and those with cancer‐related lymphoedema form two distinct groups. The former present substantial management problems which are made more complex by late referral.