Clinical Profile and Cost of Treatment among Patients with Lymphedema in Philippine Heart Center from 2018-2020

PURPOSE This is a local study conducted that describes the clinical profile and cost incurred of patients with lymphedema among Filipinos seen in our institution. METHODS A descriptive study using the data from the Philippine Heart Center Lymphedema clinic from 2018-2020. It consists of the patient’s name, age, sex, lymphedema onset, classification, type, stage, affected site, treatment modality, and the number of sessions. The cost incurred was based on the clinic’s costing list, treatment modality, and the number of sessions rendered. RESULTS The analysis included a total of 97 patients. The mean age was 60.3 (± 14.3) years old, with female predominance (74.2% versus 25.8%). The majority is classified as secondary (91.8%) versus primary (8.2%). The classification of primary lymphedema are praecox (62.5%), congenital (25%) and tarda (12.5%) while for secondary it is cancer related (53.9%), phlebolymphedema (34.8%), lipolymphedema (3.4%), obesity induced 3.4%, trauma related, infection (3.4%) and iatrogenic (1.1). The stage of severity is stage IIA (60.8%), III (17.6%), IIB (13.4%), and I (8.2%). The most affected site is bilateral lower extremities (30%), followed by left (18.5%) and right (17.5%) lower extremities. The right and left upper extremities showed equal (16.5%) with no bilateral upper extremities affectation. The majority of treatment is unilateral (68.8%) versus bilateral (31.2%) decompressive lymphatic therapy. The total cost incurred was an average of P17,753 per patient and mostly came from the private section (89.7%) versus (10.3%). CONCLUSION Lymphedema is a chronic and recurrent disease that carries a substantial cost to patients. Its exact incidence, treatment outcomes, and quality of life among Filipinos are yet to be explored. A clinical profile will be the first step to raise awareness and to identify the different subset of populations for prevention, support, and treatment. Keywords Clinical profile, Cost of treatment, Lymphedema