Assessment of limb volume by manual and automated methods in patients with limb edema or lymphedema.

OBJECTIVE: Limb edema and lymphedema due to chronic venous insufficiency or mastectomy and radiotherapy negatively effects patient well-being, lifestyle, tissue blood flow, oxygenation, and wound healing. Assessment of the efficacy of volume reduction therapy requires adequate estimation of progressive limb-segment volume changes, which are usually done manually with a tape measure. This study investigated the possibility that an optoelectronic automated method--a potentially less time-consuming and less operator-dependent method--might provide adequate limb volume assessment. DESIGN: A total of 184 manual and automated measurements of limb volume were made in 62 consecutive patients with limb edema of the legs (n = 142) and arms (n = 42). SETTING: Clinical center. RESULTS: Comparisons between automated and manual methods showed that inter-method volume estimates were highly correlated (4.14 +/- 0.54% for legs; 6.97 +/- 1.18% for arms). In patients with unilateral edema, the affected limb's percentage of edema was virtually identical when estimated by each method. CONCLUSION: These findings show that the automated method of measuring limb volume is a useful alternative in suitable patients in clinical and research applications.