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Acupuncture in the treatment of upper-limb lymphedema: results of a pilot study.

ABSTRACT: Current treatments for lymphedema after breast cancer treatment are expensive and require ongoing intervention. Clinical experience and our preliminary published results suggest that acupuncture is safe and potentially useful. This study evaluates the safety and potential efficacy of acupuncture on upper-limb circumference in women with lymphedema.Women with a clinical diagnosis of breast cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL) for 0.5-5 years and with affected arm circumference ?2 cm larger than unaffected arm received acupuncture treatment twice weekly for 4 weeks. Affected and unaffected arm circumferences were measured before and after each acupuncture treatment. Response, defined as ?30% reduction in circumference difference between affected/unaffected arms, was assessed. Monthly follow-up calls for 6 months thereafter were made to document any complications and self-reported lymphedema status.Among 37 enrolled patients, 33 were evaluated; 4 discontinued due to time constraints. Mean reduction in arm circumference difference was 0.90 cm (95% CI, 0.72-1.07; P < .0005). Eleven patients (33%) exhibited a reduction of ?30% after acupuncture treatment. Seventy-six percent of patients received all treatments; 21% missed 1 treatment, and another patient missed 2 treatments. During the treatment period, 14 of the 33 patients reported minor complaints, including mild local bruising or pain/tingling. There were no serious adverse events and no infections or severe exacerbations after 255 treatment sessions and 6 months of follow-up interviews.Acupuncture for BCRL appears safe and may reduce arm circumference. Although these results await confirmation in a randomized trial, acupuncture can be considered for women with no other options for sustained arm circumference reduction.

SUBMITTER: Cassileth BR

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3738927 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Acupuncture in the treatment of upper-limb lymphedema: results of a pilot study.

Cassileth Barrie R BR Van Zee Kimberly J KJ Yeung K Simon KS Coleton Marci I MI Cohen Sara S Chan Yi H YH Vickers Andrew J AJ Sjoberg Daniel D DD Hudis Clifford A CA

Cancer 20130410 13

<h4>Background</h4>Current treatments for lymphedema after breast cancer treatment are expensive and require ongoing intervention. Clinical experience and our preliminary published results suggest that acupuncture is safe and potentially useful. This study evaluates the safety and potential efficacy of acupuncture on upper-limb circumference in women with lymphedema.<h4>Methods</h4>Women with a clinical diagnosis of breast cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL) for 0.5-5 years and with affected arm ci ...[more]

PMID: 23576267

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Project description:Introduction Robotic therapy allow to propose sessions of controlled and identical exercises, customizing settings, and characteristics on the individual patient. The effectiveness of robotic assisted therapy is still under study and the use of robots in clinical practice is still limited. Moreover, the possibility of treatment at home allows to reduce the economic costs and time to be borne by the patient and the caregiver and is a valid tool during periods of pandemic such as covid. The aim of this study is to assess whether a robotic home-based treatment rehabilitation using the iCONE robotic device has effects on a stroke population, despite the chronic condition of patients involved and the absence of a therapist next to the patient while performing the exercises. Materials and methods All patients underwent an initial (T0) and final (T1) assessment with the iCONE robotic device and clinical scales. After T0 evaluation, the robot was delivered to the patient's home for 10 days of at-home treatment (5 days a week for 2 weeks). Results Comparison between T0 and T1 evaluations revealed some significant improvements in robot-evaluated indices such as Independence and Size for the Circle Drawing exercise and Movement Duration for Point-to-Point exercise, but also in the MAS of the elbow. From the analysis of the acceptability questionnaire, a general appreciation of the robot emerged: patients spontaneously asked for the addition of further sessions and to continue therapy. Discussion Telerehabilitation of patients suffering from a chronic stroke is an area that is still little explored. From our experience, this is one of the first studies to carry out a telerehabilitation with these characteristics. The use of robots can become a method to reduce the rehabilitation health costs, to ensure continuity of care, and to arrive in more distant places or where the availability of resources is limited. Conclusion From the data obtained, this rehabilitation seems to be promising for this population. Moreover, promoting the recovery of the upper limb, iCONE can improve patient's quality of life. It would be interesting to conduct RCT studies to compare a conventional treatment in structure with a robotic telematics treatment.

Project description:Post amputation, the complication of phantom limb pain (PLP) is prevalent and difficult to manage. This study aimed to determine whether it was feasible and acceptable to undertake a definitive multicentred randomised controlled trial assessing the effectiveness of acupuncture for treating lower limb amputees with PLP.A mixed-methods embedded design, including a randomised controlled trial and semistructured interviews, was undertaken. A total of 15 participants with PLP were randomly assigned to receive either eight pragmatic Traditional Chinese Medicine acupuncture treatments and usual care or usual care alone over 4 weeks. Outcome measures were completed at baseline, weekly throughout the study and at 1 month post completion of the study and included: a numerical pain-rating scale, the Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire 2, the EQ-5D-5 L, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the Perceived Stress Scale 10-item, the Insomnia Severity Index, and the Patient Global Impression of Change. Post completion of the trial, participants in the acupuncture group were interviewed about their experience. Feasibility-specific data were also collected.Of 24 amputees meeting the study inclusion criteria, 15 agreed to participate (recruitment rate 62.50 %). Qualitatively, acupuncture was perceived to be beneficial and effective. Quantitatively, acupuncture demonstrated clinically meaningful change in average pain intensity (raw change?=?2.69) and worst pain intensity (raw change?=?4.00). Feasibility-specific data identified that before undertaking a definitive trial, recruitment, practitioner adherence to the acupuncture protocol, completion of outcome measures at 1 month follow-up and blinding should be addressed. Appropriate outcome measures were identified for use in a definitive trial. Data were generated for future sample size calculations (effect size 0.64). Allowing for a 20 % dropout rate, a sample size of 85 participants per group would be needed in a future definitive trial.A future definitive trial may be possible if the areas identified in this study are addressed. As acupuncture may be effective at treating PLP, and as this feasibility study suggests that a definitive trial may be possible, a multicentred trial with adequate sample size and blinding is now needed.ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02126436 , registered on 4 September 2014.

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Acupuncture in the treatment of upper-limb lymphedema: results of a pilot study.

Publications

Acupuncture in the treatment of upper-limb lymphedema: results of a pilot study.

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