THE EFFECT OF COMPLETE DECONGESTIVE THERAPY ON THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF PATIENTS WITH PERIPHERAL LYMPHEDEMA

Abstract

Lymphedema is a chronic disorder which can adversely affect quality of life (QOL). Thepurpose of this study was 1) to evaluate whether QOL was improved in patients with lymphedemafollowing Complete Decongestive Therapy (CDT), and 2) whether limb volume change as aresult of treatment correlated with change in QOL. Thirty-six patients with peripherallymphedema from varying causes were enrolled in the study. The QOL of each participant, withregard to physical, functional, and psychosocial concerns, was measured by pre- and posttreatment questionnaires. Percent edema volume reduction was calculated for each patient withonly one affected limb. QOL pre- and post-treatment scores were assessed by multivariaterepeated measures analysis. QOL scores differed significantly (p<0.05) between pre- and posttreatment in all areas of inquiry. Patients with lower extremity lymphedema had significantlygreater mean improvement in QOL scores compared with patients with upper extremitylymphedema (p=0.02). There was no correlation between percent edema volume reduction andpost-treatment QOL improvement. This study suggests that significant improvements are made inthe QOL of patients exhibiting peripheral lymphedema following CDT, which is not necessarilycorrelated with limb volume reduction.