PMID- 28453410
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20190117
LR  - 20220410
IS  - 1557-8585 (Electronic)
IS  - 1539-6851 (Linking)
VI  - 16
IP  - 1
DP  - 2018 Feb
TI  - Does Lymphedema Severity Affect Quality of Life? Simple Question. Challenging 
      Answers.
PG  - 85-91
LID - 10.1089/lrb.2016.0049 [doi]
AB  - PURPOSE: Lymphedema can have a negative impact on the function and quality of 
      life (QOL) of patients, but most studies have examined lymphedema as a binary 
      variable, rather than a multidimensional disease that ranges in severity. This 
      study explored the potential impact of lymphedema severity on function and 
      overall QOL. METHODS AND RESULTS: Of the 54 lymphedema patients recruited, 40 
      reported their most severe swelling to be in a limb. These participants underwent 
      bioimpedance measurement (L-Dex((R))) and completed either the disabilities of the 
      arm, shoulder, and hand (DASH) questionnaire or the lower extremity functional 
      scale (LEFS). All participants completed the lymphedema quality of life 
      questionnaire (LYMQOL) and were categorized for severity using International 
      Society of Lymphology (ISL) stage. Mild (Stage 0-I), moderate (Stage IIa), and 
      severe (Stage IIb-III) lymphedema accounted for 22%, 50%, and 28% of the 
      participants, respectively. The median [inter-quartile range (IQR)] L-Dex score 
      was 17.8 (6.6-52.7) for arm participants and 36.4 (15.9-93.5) for leg 
      participants. Apart from a mild difference in LYMQOL ARM Appearance domain 
      (p = 0.046), ISL staging did not have any relationship with DASH, LEFS, and 
      LYMQOL domains, or overall QOL. Higher L-Dex was related to poorer function (DASH 
      p = 0.015; LEFS p = 0.019), but was not related to overall QOL of limb lymphedema 
      participants (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Lymphedema severity did not appear to 
      impact QOL. ISL staging may not be used alone to describe lymphedema severity. 
      Other methods such as bioimpedance, imaging, and self-report of symptoms are 
      required to fully evaluate the impact of lymphedema severity on function and QOL.
FAU - Lee, Teresa S
AU  - Lee TS
AD  - 1 Northern Sydney Cancer Centre, Royal North Shore Hospital , St Leonards, 
      Australia .
AD  - 2 Melanoma Institute Australia , North Sydney, Australia .
AD  - 3 University of Sydney , Sydney, Australia .
FAU - Morris, Carol M
AU  - Morris CM
AD  - 1 Northern Sydney Cancer Centre, Royal North Shore Hospital , St Leonards, 
      Australia .
AD  - 2 Melanoma Institute Australia , North Sydney, Australia .
FAU - Czerniec, Sharon A
AU  - Czerniec SA
AD  - 4 Australian Catholic University , North Sydney, Australia .
FAU - Mangion, Andrea J
AU  - Mangion AJ
AD  - 5 Lymphedema Education and Training Institute , Sydney, Australia .
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
DEP - 20170428
PL  - United States
TA  - Lymphat Res Biol
JT  - Lymphatic research and biology
JID - 101163587
SB  - IM
MH  - Adult
MH  - Aged
MH  - Arm/diagnostic imaging/pathology/*physiopathology
MH  - Electric Impedance
MH  - Female
MH  - Humans
MH  - Leg/diagnostic imaging/pathology/*physiopathology
MH  - Lymphedema/diagnostic imaging/pathology/physiopathology/*psychology
MH  - Male
MH  - Middle Aged
MH  - Quality of Life/*psychology
MH  - Severity of Illness Index
MH  - Surveys and Questionnaires
OTO - NOTNLM
OT  - bioimpedance
OT  - function
OT  - lymphedema
OT  - quality of life
EDAT- 2017/04/30 06:00
MHDA- 2019/01/18 06:00
CRDT- 2017/04/29 06:00
PHST- 2017/04/30 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2019/01/18 06:00 [medline]
PHST- 2017/04/29 06:00 [entrez]
AID - 10.1089/lrb.2016.0049 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Lymphat Res Biol. 2018 Feb;16(1):85-91. doi: 10.1089/lrb.2016.0049. Epub 2017 Apr 
      28.