BackgroundLymphoedema is a common and troublesome condition that develops following breast cancer treatment. The aim of this study is to analyze the effectiveness of Manual Lymphatic Drainage in the treatment of postmastectomy lymphoedema in order to reduce the volume of lymphoedema and evaluate the improvement of the concomitant symptomatology.MethodsA randomized, controlled clinical trial in 58 women with post-mastectomy lymphoedema. The control group includes 29 patients with standard treatment (skin care, exercise and compression measures, bandages for one month and, subsequently, compression garnments). The experimental group includes 29 patients with standard treatment plus Manual Lymphatic Drainage. The therapy will be administered daily for four weeks and the patient's condition will be assessed one, three and six months after treatment.The primary outcome parameter is volume reduction of the affected arm after treatment, expressed as a percentage. Secondary outcome parameters include: duration of lymphoedema reduction and improvement of the concomitant symptomatology (degree of pain, sensation of swelling and functional limitation in the affected extremity, subjective feeling of being physically less atractive and less feminine, difficulty looking at oneself naked and dissatisfaction with the corporal image).DiscussionThe results of this study will provide information on the effectiveness of Manual Lymphatic Drainage and its impact on the quality of life and physical limitations of these patients.Trial registrationClinicalTrials (NCT): NCT01152099

No abstract

No abstract

Objective. This study presents the data of a prospective investigation on the screening of the nutritional status in hospitalized patients of a radiation oncology department with the purpose to define: (1) prevalence and rate of malnutrition risk in this patient population, and (2) the nutrition interventions realized. Materials and methods. A total of 42 patients, hospitalized from July to October 2012 were enrolled in this study. The nutritional status of patients was evaluated using two methods: (1) Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment (PG-SGA): the nutritional status of each patient was rated as well nourished (A), moderately malnourished (B), or severely malnourished (C). (2) Nutritional alert (CONUT) based on levels of albumin, cholesterol and total lymphocyte count: patients were rated as low, intermediate risk or high risk of malnourished. Results. The mean age of patients in this study was 62 years and the average length of hospitalization was 10 days. According to the PG-SGA results, 42.9%, 38.1%, and 11.9% of patients were classified as A, B, or C, respectively. According to CONUT 50%, 33.3% and 2.4% were classified as low, intermediate and high risk respectively. Some kind of nutritional interventions were taken in 14.3%, 57.1% and 100% of low, intermediate and high risk respectively. Nutritional support consisted on dietetic advisory (30%) and/or supplement intake (69%). Supervision for specialist in nutrition was no required. At discharge 14.3%, 57.1% and 100% of patients were classified as low, intermediate and high risk Conclusions. Malnutrition in hospitalized cancer patients is a prevalent problem. GP-SGA and CONUT was applied successfully to assess the nutritional status of most patients. The results of this study serve as a basis for improve implementation of nutrition intervention to inpatients in our Radiation Oncology department.http://dx.

No abstract