Evaluation Of Compression Garment Compliance Factors İn Breast Cancer Patients

Authors : Songül Keskin Kavak, Lale Aktekin

Pages : 547-553

Doi:10.18663/tjcl.1540060

View : 37 | Download : 90

Publication Date : 2024-12-31

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :Aim: Complete decongestive therapy (CDT) is the standard treatment of postmastectomy lymphedema. Our study aimed to determine the factors that impair compliance with the compression garment, one of the main phases of CDT, and to reduce the limiting effects of lymphedema by increasing the treatment compliance of lymphedema patients. Material and Methods: In this prospective study, demographic and clinical information of the patients were recorded. The stage of lymphedema (International Society of Lymphology (ISL)) and whether they had received lymphedema treatment before were questioned. The experience of pressure garment use was evaluated with a 5-point Likert-type scale questionnaire covering factors affecting patient compliance. Results: The mean age of 71 postmastectomy lymphedema patients was 56.3±8.6 years. 29 patients (40.8%) used their compression garments regularly every day, while 42 (59.1%) patients did not use them regularly. Regarding the mean score values, the top 3 reasons for limiting factors impairing compliance with the pressure garment were as follows: the patients had the most problems putting on and taking off the garment (3.94±1.30), had difficulty in housework in daily life (3.92±1.36), and had difficulty in participating in sports and hobby activities (3.84±1.41). Conclusion: Patients\\\' specific characteristics, lifestyle, and history are important in the selection of compression garments. It is important to identify factors that impair compliance with the compression garment, to inform patients about lymphedema preventive measures, and to enable them to better adapt to daily life with the compression garment may improve self-treatment management and reduce the need for caregivers
Keywords : Postmastektomi lenfödem, kompleks dekonjestif tedavi, kompresyon giysisi, gece kompresyon bandajı.