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© 2024 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

Background/Objectives: Breast cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL) is a chronic condition that has early diagnosis as a critical component for proper treatment. Thermography, a non-invasive imaging method, is considered a promising complementary tool for the diagnosis and monitoring of BCRL, especially in subclinical stages. The present study aimed to evaluate the intra- and inter-examiner reproducibility of thermography for measuring the skin temperature of the upper limbs (UL) of women with and without BCRL. Methods: This study, conducted with women who underwent a unilateral mastectomy, assessed BCRL using indirect volumetry. Maximum, minimum, and mean skin temperatures were measured in five regions of interest (ROI) of each UL (C1, C2, C3, C4, and Cup) in four different postures. Reproducibility measures were assessed using an intraclass correlation coefficient, 95% confidence interval, and coefficient of variation. Results: The sample comprised 30 women; 14 were diagnosed with BCRL. A total of 120 thermograms were recorded in different postures, and 3600 ROI were analyzed in the UL with and without BRCL. The intraclass correlation coefficient of the analyses indicated intra- and inter-examiner reproducibility from good to excellent (0.82 to 1.00) for all skin temperatures evaluated (maximum, minimum, and mean). The coefficient of variation for all measures was below 10%, indicating low variability. Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate that thermography shows good-to-excellent reproducibility across multiple postures and regions of interest, reinforcing its potential as a non-invasive and reliable method for assessing lymphedema in breast cancer survivors. This study establishes a foundation for incorporating thermography into clinical practice for early BCRL detection, particularly in subclinical stages, thus improving patient management and outcomes.

Details

Title
Reproducibility of Thermography for Measuring Skin Temperature of Upper Limbs in Breast Cancer Survivors
Author
Vanessa Maria da Silva Alves Gomes 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Tenório, Naiany 1 ; Ana Rafaela Cardozo da Silva 1 ; Laura Raynelle Patriota Oliveira 1 ; Ana Claúdia Souza da Silva 1 ; Juliana Netto Maia 1 ; Marcos Leal Brioschi 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Dantas, Diego 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo 

 Departamento de Fisioterapia, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife 50670-901, Brazil; [email protected] (V.M.d.S.A.G.); [email protected] (N.T.); [email protected] (A.R.C.d.S.); [email protected] (L.R.P.O.); [email protected] (A.C.S.d.S.); [email protected] (J.N.M.) 
 Medical Thermology and Thermography Specialization, Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo 05508-220, Brazil; [email protected] 
First page
2465
Publication year
2024
Publication date
2024
Publisher
MDPI AG
e-ISSN
22279059
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
3132948202
Copyright
© 2024 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.