Using the Glasgow Benefit Inventory questionnaire to quantify the health benefits of lymphoedema treatment in patients w
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Applied Cancer Research
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Open Access
Using the Glasgow Benefit Inventory questionnaire to quantify the health benefits of lymphoedema treatment in patients with head and neck cancer Edwin Halliday1* , Jayne Gittins2 and Syed Farhan Ahsan1
Abstract Background: Lymphoedema is a common side effect after treatment for head and neck cancer. Our treatment protocol involves staging the degree of lymphoedema and then offering treatment comprising skin care, manual lymphatic drainage, simple lymphatic drainage, compression and elastic therapeutic tape. The Glasgow Benefit Inventory is a validated post-interventional questionnaire applicable to otorhinolaryngology interventions which measures changes in health status. The aim of this study was to quantify the health benefits of lymphoedema treatment using the Glasgow Inventory Benefit questionnaire, in patients with a history of treated head and neck cancer. Methods: Any patient who had undergone treatment with curative intent of a primary head and neck malignancy who had been referred for lymphoedema treatment within a 6 month period was eligible for inclusion. Patients completed a questionnaire after finishing the course of lymphoedema treatment. Results: A total of 15 patients completed the questionnaire. Ten patients (67%) demonstrated some level of improvement in quality of life, while two (13%) reported no benefit and three (20%) reported negative improvements. The average score for the total Glasgow Benefit Inventory scale was + 7.2. The greatest benefit was demonstrated with the physical benefit subscale (+ 13.1). The average general benefit score was + 9.0. Conclusions: Lymphoedema treatment involves techniques which can fairly easily be taught to patients to complete at home. In this study, there were mild improvements in patient reported quality of life using the Glasgow Benefit Inventory in the majority of patients. Clinical interest has increased in lymphoedema recently, but there is still limited information about the effectiveness of treatments and future research should look to address these issues. Keywords: Glasgow Benefit Inventory, Head and neck neoplasms, Lymphedema, Quality of life
Background The morbidity associated with the treatment of head and neck cancer can be significant and most patients will have some side effects during treatment and for several weeks afterwards. Some side effects may become * Correspondence: [email protected] 1 Department of ENT, Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, Mytton Oak Road, Shrewsbury SY3 8XQ, UK Full list of author information is available at the end of the article
long-term and indeed others may develop months or even years after treatment. Lymphoedema is one of the side effects after treatment and can present with swelling to the neck, particularly in the submental area. It has been estimated that lymphoedema may affect up to 50% of patients treated for head and neck cancer [1, 2]. Risk factors for lymphoedema include the location of the tumour, time si
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