Skin hardness and imaging of the skin and subcutaneous tissue on ultrasonography before and immediately after lymph drainage

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25862142
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Clinical nursing
• Research Institution: Kanazawa University
• Principal Investigator: DAI Misako 金沢大学, 保健学系, 助教 (50614864)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: リンパ浮腫 / 超音波診断画像 / リンパドレナージ / 治療効果評価 / 浮腫減少

Outline of Final Research Achievements

I revealed the changes structure in skin and subcutaneous tissue on ultrasonography(US) before and immediately after manual lymph drainage (MLD) in breast cancer-related lymphedema patients (BCRL).
This observational study examined 30 limbs with unilateral secondary lymphedema attending three lymphedema clinics in Japan. Skin hardness was assessed using a 10-cm visual analog scale (VAS). US was performed at 20 MHz for skin and 10 MHz for subcutaneous tissue. Patients were assigned to Group A (n=10) with decreased VAS and Group B (n=5) with unchanged VAS. Results of US and other characteristics were then compared between groups. Group A showed decreased numbers of low-echogenic pixels (LEP) and decreased pixel uniformity after MLD, whereas Group B did not. These findings suggest that interstitial fluid in the dermis and subcutaneous tissue is decreased after MLD in BCRL who report softening of the skin, and can therefore be used as a quantitative indicator for the effectiveness of MLD.

Free Research Field

臨床看護，リンパ浮腫ケア