Avaliação do calor superficial na volumetria de membros inferiores linfedematosos durante a drenagem linfática mecânica

Abstract

Thermotherapy has been indicated by some researchers as a technique in the treatment of lymphedema. Objective: The aim of the current study was to evaluate whether the association of heat with mechanical lymph drainage favors the reduction in volume of lymphedematous and healthy lower extremities. Method: Fifteen patients with lymphedema of the lower extremities with ages ranging from 18 to 79 years old (mean of 44.4 years) were enrolled in this study. Volume changes were evaluated for mechanical lymph drainage both in isolation and associated with heat. Mechanical lymph drainage was performed using the RA3000/Godoy ® apparatus and the Thermolipo (Advice®) apparatus was utilized for the simultaneous application of heat. The volume of lower extremities, before and after treatment, was evaluated by volumetry. The Wilcoxon s test was utilized for statistical analysis with the significance level set at 5% (p-value < 0.05). Results: Significant differences were observed comparing lymph drainage in isolation and when associated with heat of lymphedematous (p-value = 0.0008) and healthy (p-value = 0.028) limbs. There were significant reductions in volume with treatment using mechanical lymph drainage in isolation both for lymphedematous (p-value = 0.0001) and healthy (p-value = 0.006) limbs. However, no significant difference was seen with the simultaneous application of heat (p-value = 0.56 and 0.51 for lymphedematous and healthy limbs, respectively). Conclusion: The association of surface heat with mechanical lymph drainage does not favor a reduction in volume of lymphedematous or healthy lower extremities.