Article

Assessment of the incidence of upper limb oedema in an acute care
setting by means of clinical and volumetric evaluation. METHODS: Patients with
acute hemiparetic stroke were recruited from 2006 until 2009 (n = 125). Baseline
measurements consisted of the National Institute of Health Stroke Scale,
Fugl-Meyer Assessment Arm Section and demographic characteristics. Oedema
assessment was performed at 7 days after inclusion and at 1 month and 3 months
follow-up. A standardised water displacement method (objective measurement) was
used to define oedema and was compared to data from visual inspection and
palpation (subjective measurement). RESULTS: In literature, the incidence of
upper limb oedema ranges from 16-83%, defined by a variety of definitions. Oedema
incidence in this study was defined by strict criteria using water displacement
and ranged from 9-13.9%, while the incidence of oedema defined by visual
inspection and palpation ranged from 6-18.5% during the different stages of
follow-up. The agreement (Kappa) between both measurements ranged from 0.23-0.38,
which is not more than 'moderate' but comparable to the agreement of 0.34 found
in literature. CONCLUSION: An objective and subjective assessment of oedema was
used; the agreement between both methods was only moderate. The incidence of
oedema found in this study is lower than the incidences found in literature.

Langue : ANGLAIS