Diagnosis of Upper Quadrant Lymphedema Secondary to Cancer: Clinical Practice Guideline From the Oncology Section of the American Physical Therapy Association.

American Physical Therapy Association (APTA)

Diagnosis of Upper Quadrant Lymphedema Secondary to Cancer: Clinical Practice Guideline From the Oncology Section of the American Physical Therapy Association.

Practice Recommendations Based on Patient Presentation At Risk/Early Upper Extremity Lymphedema (ILS Stage 0-I) Bioimpedance analysis (BIA) should be used to detect subclinical/early stage lymphedema (Grade B) – Cutpoint of >7.1 L-Dex score should be used for diagnosis of breast cancer–related lymphedema when preoperative baseline measures are not available (Grade B) – Cutpoint of >10 L-Dex score above preoperative baseline should be used for diagnosis of breast cancer–related lymphedema (Grade B) – Preoperative assessment using BIA may enhance the ability to detect changes in tissue fluid earlier indicating lymphedema (Grade B)

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