St George’s University Hospitals NHS: Lymphedema & Lipedema – Real-World Pilot Evaluation
1Prof. Peter Mortimer, 1Mr. Mark Pearson, 1Mr. Patryk Gawrysiak, 2Dr. Katie Riches, 2,3Prof. Vaughan Keeley, 4Miss Kirstie Tew, 4Mr. Ewan Cranwell
1St. George’s University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom; 2Royal Derby Hospital, Derby, United Kingdom; 3University of Nottingham Medical School, Nottingham, United Kingdom; 4KiActiv®
Scientific Abstract
Background
Lymphedema and lipedema are debilitating conditions with no proven drug or surgical therapy. Effective treatment requires self-management through movement and compression to reduce limb volume and the incidence of cellulitis. The addition of personalized everyday physical activity (PA) could be transformative, increasing the therapy window to include all waking hours per week and enabling an increased dose of PA.
Aim
This service evaluation aimed to determine the feasibility of LymphActiv as a treatment option for lymphedema and lipedema patients.
Methodology
This service evaluation followed an open observational cohort design, including 55 patients who participated in LymphActiv over 24 weeks. Patients wore an objective PA monitor and interacted with their data in an online dashboard, alongside remote mentor support. Primary outcomes were changes to PA, body weight, limb volume and quality of life. Clinical assessments occurred at baseline and after the 24-week program. Non-completers were used as a quasi-control group for comparison.
Results
Thirty-seven patients completed, of which 81% improved PA. On average, completers reduced their right and left lower limb volumes by −1.8% and −2.1%, respectively. Completers also experienced small average weight losses of −1.2 kg. Non-completers experienced small average increases in each of these outcome measures.
Discussion
Engagement with the KiActiv® Health CR programme was excellent, and was associated with improvements in PA, self-reported mental health and QoL. Randomised data is required to compare this intervention to usual practice and provide evidence of causation.
Publications
After peer review, the results of our pilot study have been published in the internationally recognised Lymphatic Research & Biology Journal, click below for more.
