ABSTRACT
Background: To estimate the prevalence of lymphedema/chronic edema (CO) and wounds in acute hospital inpatients in five different countries. Methods and Results: A point-prevalence study was carried out during working day periods in six general hospitals in four countries (Denmark, France, United Kingdom, and Australia) and one hospital oncology inpatient unit in one other country (Ireland). The study used validated clinical tools for the assessment and collection of data. Data were collected by expert clinicians through interviews and physical examination of the patients present in the wards. A total of 1905 patients could be included and investigated among the 3041 total bed occupancy in the seven hospitals. Lymphedema/CO was present in 723 of them (38%). Main risk factors associated with CO were age, morbid obesity, and heart failure, as well as chair bound immobility and neurological deficiency. History of cellulitis was frequent in patients with CO and wounds (24.8%) and CO alone (14.1%) compared to the 1.5% prevalence in patients without CO. Conclusion: Lymphedema/CO is very frequent in patients hospitalized in hospital acute wards. It is strongly associated with obesity, venous insufficiency, and heart failure. Our results strongly suggest a hidden health care burden and cost linked to CO independently of chronic wounds.
Subject(s)
Cellulitis/diagnosis , Edema/diagnosis , Lymphatic System/pathology , Lymphedema/diagnosis , Age Factors , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Australia/epidemiology , Cellulitis/epidemiology , Cellulitis/pathology , Cellulitis/physiopathology , Chronic Disease , Cross-Sectional Studies , Diagnosis, Differential , Edema/epidemiology , Edema/pathology , Edema/physiopathology , Europe/epidemiology , Female , Heart Failure/diagnosis , Heart Failure/physiopathology , Hospitals , Humans , Inpatients , Lymphatic System/physiopathology , Lymphedema/epidemiology , Lymphedema/pathology , Lymphedema/physiopathology , Male , Middle Aged , Neurocognitive Disorders/diagnosis , Neurocognitive Disorders/physiopathology , Obesity, Morbid/diagnosis , Obesity, Morbid/physiopathology , Prevalence , Quality of Life , Risk FactorsABSTRACT
Background: There is no standardized international model for specialist lymphedema services, which covers the types of lymphedema treated and the treatments provided. The aim of this study was to provide a profile of patients attending specialist lymphedema services in different countries to explore similarities and differences. Methods and Results: The LIMPRINT core tool was used in specialist lymphedema services in the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Turkey. Services in Turkey saw a slightly younger age group, with a higher proportion of female patients reflecting a particular focus on breast cancer-related lymphedema. There were higher levels of obesity and restricted mobility in patients in the United Kingdom compared with other countries. Italy and France saw the highest percentage of patients with primary lymphedema. Diabetes was a common comorbidity in the United Kingdom and Turkey. The United Kingdom saw the largest number of patients with lower limb lymphedema. Conclusions: The results show a wide range of complexity of patients treated in specialist lymphedema services. Some of the differences between countries may reflect different stages in the evolution of specialist lymphedema services, rather than a true difference in prevalence, with those with "younger" services treating a high proportion of patients with cancer and those with more established services treating a wider range of different types of lymphedema, including more elderly people with multiple comorbidities.
