Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Quantitative bioimpedance spectroscopy for the assessment of lymphedema

Quantitative bioimpedance spectroscopy for the assessment of lymphoedema

Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2008 Dec

Ward LC, Czerniec S, Kilbreath SL.
School of Molecular and Microbial Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia,
l.ward@uq.edu.au.

The aim was to make bioimpedance spectroscopy (BIS) quantitative for assessment of lymphoedema. Apparent resistivity coefficients were determined for the intra- and extracellular water of arms in a control cohort of women (n = 66). These coefficients were used to predict water volumes in the arms of women with lymphoedema (n = 23) and a separate control group without lymphoedema (n = 13) and to compare these with total arm size measured by perometry. Total arm volume was highly correlated (r = 0.80-0.90) with arm fluid volumes predicted by BIS and the proportional increase in arm size predicted by BIS was not significantly different to that measured by perometry. BIS predicted that the increased volume in the women with lymphoedema was predominantly (60%) due to increase in extracellular fluid. BIS is capable of quantifying the volume increase in limb size seen in lymphoedema.

SpringerLink

Lymphedema in systemic juvenile arthritis: a rare extraarticular feature

Lymphedema in systemic juvenile arthritis: a rare extraarticular feature
Acta Reumatol Port. 2008 Oct-Dec

Ambrósio C, Abreu P, Alexandre M, Malcata A.
Serviço de Reumatologia dos Hospitais da Universidade de Coimbra.


Extraarticular features are usually found in rheumatological diseases sometimes with no correlation with the disease's activity in that moment. Lymphoedema is one of these manifestations and it's defined as a tissue fluid accumulation with gradual onset of swelling of a limb. Because it is an unusual finding, the physiopatological explanation of this feature is still difficult to understand. We describe a case report of lymphoedema on left upper arm, in a patient with systemic juvenile arthritis, with no identified cause and with no associated systemic signs or symptoms.

PMID: 19107091 [PubMed - in process]