Effectiveness of Two Compression Methods in the Treatment of Upper Limb Lymphedema

Summary

Treatment of lymphedema is based on a combined program called complex decongestive therapy. The components of the complex decongestive therapy are skin care, kinesiotherapy, manual lymphatic drainage and compression. The compression with multilayer bandage has proved to be the most effective of these therapies when analyzed separately.The multilayer bandage produces a gradient compression on the limb where distal pressure is higher than proximal pressure. Several materials are needed for the multilayer bandage, including tubular bandage lining, digit bandages, foam under-cast padding and multiple layers of short-stretch bandages to cover the entire limb. The Precast Adjustable Compression Wrap fits each patient through a Velcro system.

The aim is to compare the effectiveness of a precast adjustable compression wrap (Circaid) with the multilayer compression bandages in the treatment of the upper limb lymphedema.

Conditions

• Lymphedema

Interventions

DEVICE

Precast Adjustable Compression Wrap (Circaid)

A physiotherapist well trained in lymphedema treatment will apply a lymphatic drainage to the affected upper limb. Then the physiotherapist will apply the precast adjustable compression wrap to the patient. The patient would maintain the precast adjustable compression wrap until the next session of treatment. The first 10 sessions will be daily from Monday to Friday. After the 10 first sessions, the treatment will be applied on alternate days (3 per week) until the patient receive a tailored compression garment (7-14 days).

DEVICE

Multilayer Compression Bandages

A physiotherapist well trained in lymphedema treatment will apply a lymphatic drainage to the affected upper limb. Then the physiotherapist will apply the multilayer bandage to the patient. The patient would maintain the multilayer compression bandage until the next session of treatment. The first 10 sessions will be daily from Monday to Friday. After the 10 first sessions, the treatment will be applied on alternate days (3 per week) until the patient receive a tailored compression garment (7-14 days).

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Hospital Universitari de Bellvitge

  collaborator OTHER

• Germans Trias i Pujol Hospital

  collaborator OTHER

• Hospital Vall d'Hebron

  collaborator OTHER

• Parc de Salut Mar

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Roser Belmonte, MD, PhD · Parc de Salut Mar

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

FEMALE

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2014-10-13

Primary Completion

2016-01-19

Completion

2017-04-05

Countries

• Spain

Study Locations