Table 6.
No. of Precautions Followed by Surgical Procedure, Arm Dominance, and Lymphedema Category
| Parameter | No. of Patients | Mean | SD | Median | Range | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SLNB | ||||||
| Alone | 600 | 4.3 | 1.9 | 4 | 0-13 | < .0001 |
| Followed by ALND | 336 | 5.1 | 1.5 | 5 | 1-11 | |
| Arm | ||||||
| Dominant | 471 | 4.7 | 1.8 | 5 | 0-13 | .24 |
| Non-dominant | 465 | 4.5 | 1.9 | 4 | 0-13 | |
| L > 2 cm | ||||||
| No | 850 | 4.5 | 1.8 | 4 | 0-13 | < .0001 |
| Yes | 86 | 5.3 | 1.9 | 5 | 0-11 | |
| Patient-reported current swelling | ||||||
| No | 827 | 4.4 | 1.8 | 4 | 0-13 | < .0001 |
| Yes | 109 | 5.7 | 1.8 | 5 | 1-11 | |
| Swelling by LBCQ | ||||||
| No | 859 | 4.5 | 1.8 | 4 | 0-13 | < .0001 |
| Yes | 77 | 5.5 | 2.0 | 5 | 0-11 | |
| Lymphedema | ||||||
| No* | 786 | 4.4 | 1.8 | 4 | 0-13 | < .0001 |
| Asymptomatic* | 41 | 4.7 | 1.7 | 5 | 0-8 | |
| Symptomatic nonlymphedema* | 64 | 5.5 | 1.8 | 5 | 1-10 | |
| Symptomatic* | 45 | 5.9 | 1.9 | 6 | 3-11 |
NOTE. L > 2 cm, definition of measured lymphedema as calculated by formula L = (If/u−Ib) –(Cf/u−Cb) where I indicates ipsilateral upper-extremity circumference, C indicates contralateral upper-extremity circumference, f/u indicates follow-up, and b indicates baseline.
Abbreviations: SD, standard deviation; SLNB, sentinel lymph node biopsy; ALND, axillary lymph node dissection; LBCQ, Lymphedema and Breast Cancer Questionnaire; No lymphedema, no perceived swelling and L ≤ 2 cm; asymptomatic lymphedema, no perceived swelling but L > 2 cm; symptomatic non-lymphedema, perceived swelling but L ≤ 2 cm; symptomatic lymphedema, perceived swelling and L > 2 cm.