Inclusion and exclusion criteria
venous insufficiency, reflux, lower extremity lymphedema, cancer, pitting, venous thromboembolic disease, asthma, peripheral artery disease
KIDNEY DISEASE, REFLUX, LOWER EXTREMITY LYMPHEDEMA, CANCER, VENOUS THROMBOEMBOLIC DISEASE, PRIMARY LYMPHEDEMA, RECRUITMENT, SECONDARY, INFLAMMATION OR INFECTION, CHRONIC VENOUS INSUFFICIENCY, VENOUS INSUFFICIENCY, LEG EDEMA
Patients who had undergone treatment for clinically confirmed primary or secondary lower extremity lymphedema were eligible for enrollment. Participants had to be ≥18 years old and present with pitting unilateral or bilateral leg edema (International Society of Lymphology stage 2).Exclusion criteria included body mass index (BMI) >40; active or recently treated cancer; active infection or inflammation, recent venous thromboembolic disease, chronic venous insufficiency, heart failure, chronic kidney disease, poorly controlled asthma, peripheral artery disease; presence of an open wound, and pregnancy. At the screening visit, duplex ultrasound (US) tests were used to rule out significant venous insufficiency (defined by reflux >2 seconds).It should be noted that under an earlier version of the protocol (July 2013), 468 patients were screened, leading to only one recruitment. Due to this slow recruitment, the following exclusion criteria were revised to the above: primary lymphedema, compression garment <30 mm Hg and BMI >35.