A 5-year review of a lymphoedema service.
Data for 714 patients referred during a 5-year period to a specialist lymphoedema service in Oxford, UK, have been recorded on a database. The annual number of new patients almost doubled from 103 to 195. In addition to initial assessments, there were over 1000 follow-up appointments per year. Most patients were seen as out-patients. Fifty-six per cent of the referrals were from Oxfordshire and the rest from further afield. The two largest groups referring patients to the service were general practitioners (43%) and the radiotherapy department (26%). Most referrals were female (84%), and the main cause of lymphoedema was cancer and cancer treatments (68%). After 2 years, only 15% of patients were still attending the clinic regularly. The number of patients receiving intensive treatment increased by almost 40%. These findings emphasize the need to target resources and expertise selectively in order to provide an optimal service to patients needing specialist help.
Williams
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Bergl
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Twycross
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D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008209:Lymphedema / Q000209:etiology / Q000451:nursing*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000150:complications; D009720:Nurse Clinicians / Q000592:standards*; D009859:Oncology Nursing / Q000592:standards*; D010044:Outpatient Clinics, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends